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

Tobias, 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 Tobias surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tobias in America

Tobias is the 2494th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tobias surname appeared 14,482 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Tobias.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tobias 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 Tobias

The surname Tobias is derived from the Hebrew name Tobiah, which means "God is good." It originated in ancient Israel and was initially a personal name before evolving into a hereditary surname.

The name has its roots in the biblical Book of Tobit, where the central character is named Tobiah. This book is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon but is considered apocryphal by Protestants and Jews.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tobias as a surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Tobia." This document, commissioned by William the Conqueror, provides a comprehensive record of landholders across England following the Norman Conquest.

During the Middle Ages, the name Tobias was relatively uncommon in England but was more prevalent in parts of continental Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. Variations of the spelling included Tobias, Tobiassen, and Tobasson.

In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name Tobias was the German Protestant reformer and theologian Tobias Cricius (1497-1559). He was a leading figure in the Reformation movement and worked closely with Martin Luther.

Another prominent individual with the surname Tobias was the Dutch painter Tobias Verhaecht (1561-1631), known for his landscapes and genre scenes. His works are featured in various museums across Europe.

In the 17th century, the English philosopher and author Sir Tobias Crisp (1600-1643) was a controversial figure known for his antinomian views, which held that moral law was not binding for believers under the covenant of grace.

The 18th century saw the birth of Tobias Smollett (1721-1771), a Scottish novelist and playwright celebrated for his picaresque novels, such as "The Adventures of Roderick Random" and "The Expedition of Humphry Clinker."

In the 19th century, the German-American astronomer Tobias Mayer (1793-1857) made significant contributions to celestial mechanics and the study of binary star systems. His work on the motion of the moon was particularly influential.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tobias

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

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 Tobias 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 Tobias 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 Tobias was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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