Find out how popular the last name Tobaben is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Tobaben.

Tobaben, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Tobaben surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tobaben in America

Tobaben is the 141140th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tobaben surname appeared 118 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tobaben.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tobaben to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Tobaben

The surname TOBABEN is believed to have originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is thought to have derived from the German words "tobe" meaning "rage" and "ben" which was a diminutive suffix, suggesting a meaning of "little rager" or "little hothead."

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in the region of Bavaria. One of the first known individuals with this surname was Hans TOBABEN, a farmer who lived in the village of Oberammergau in the 1300s. His name appears in local tax records from that era.

In the 15th century, the name appears in church registries from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a Johann TOBABEN was listed as a member of the local guild of blacksmiths in 1472. This suggests the name may have initially been an occupational surname referring to someone with a fiery temper working as a metalsmith.

The TOBABEN name continued to be concentrated mainly in southern Germany over the following centuries. Notable bearers include the playwright and satirist Georg TOBABEN (1596-1661) from Nuremberg, whose works poked fun at the wealthy elite of his day.

In the 1700s, a branch of the family migrated to the Kingdom of Prussia. Friedrich TOBABEN (1732-1798) became a respected jurist and legal scholar who served on the high court in Berlin under King Frederick the Great.

As the 19th century arrived, some TOBABENs began spreading further across the German states. Carl TOBABEN (1811-1887) was a renowned linguist from Leipzig who published influential works on Germanic languages and folklore.

While not a widespread surname globally, TOBABEN maintained a steady presence primarily in its regions of origin over the centuries. The name carries an intriguing link to the German vocabulary and cultural history of the Middle Ages up through more modern times.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tobaben

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tobaben.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Tobaben was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Tobaben has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Tobaben was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tobaben, please contact us.

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