2000
#2,526
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.86
Uncommon Last name
Tobias
A surname derived from the Hebrew given name Tobiah, meaning "God is good" or "the goodness of God."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,911 Americans carry the last name Tobias. That puts it at #2,538 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,542 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tobias surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Tobias with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,542
Census rank
#2,538
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,875 bearers of the surname Tobias in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2538th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tobias, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and Black (13.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tobias
Among Census respondents with the surname Tobias, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and Black (13.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Tobias bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Tobias surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.0% · 7,220
- Hispanic or Latino27.1% · 3,759
- Black or African American13.5% · 1,876
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 566
- Two or more races3.0% · 419
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tobias
Tobias appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,482
+1,369 bearers (+10.4%)
Per 100,000 4.91
Rank movement Up 32 places
2020
#2,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,875
-607 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 4.64
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,526 | 13,113 | 4.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,494 | 14,482 | 4.91 | +1,369 bearers (+10.4%) | Up 32 places |
| 2020 | #2,538 | 13,875 | 4.64 | -607 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 44 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Tobias surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,494 | #2,538 | -1.8% |
| Count | 14,482 | 13,875 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 4.91 | 4.64 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tobias bearers went from 14,482 to 13,875 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,494 to #2,538.
FAQ
Tobias surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tobias?
Name Census estimates that about 15,911 living Americans carry the surname Tobias. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,542 residents.
How common is Tobias?
Tobias ranks #2,538 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,875 people with the surname Tobias. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,911), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Tobias.
Has Tobias become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tobias went from 14,482 recorded bearers to 13,875. That is a decrease of 607 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,494 to #2,538.
What does the Census say about the background of Tobias?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tobias, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and Black (13.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tobias in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.0% (7,220 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tobias appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (52.0%), Hispanic (27.1%), Black (13.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Tobias (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Tobias mean?
A surname derived from the Hebrew given name Tobiah, meaning "God is good" or "the goodness of God." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Tobias (4.64 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Tobias?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.