2000
#1,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.72
Uncommon Last name
Tobin
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Toibín," meaning a person who was well-mannered or descended from Toibín.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,169 Americans carry the last name Tobin. That puts it at #2,012 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,994 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tobin 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 Tobin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 16,994
Census rank
#2,012
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,588 bearers of the surname Tobin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2012th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tobin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tobin
The surname TOBIN is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the medieval Gaelic Ó Tobín, meaning "descendant of Tobin". Tobin itself is a diminutive of the Irish personal name Tóibín, derived from the Old Irish tóeb, meaning "side" or "flank".
The name first emerged in County Wicklow, where the family held lands and prominence from ancient times. Early spelling variations of the name include O'Tubin, O'Tubyn, Tubbin, Tubbyn, and Tobyn. Some of the earliest records mentioning the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Tadhg Ó Tobín, a prominent Irish cleric who lived in the 14th century and served as the Bishop of Aghadoe in County Kerry. In the 16th century, the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters in connection with the battle of Glenmalure in 1580, where a member of the Tobin family fought against English forces.
During the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century, many TOBIN families were displaced from their ancestral lands and resettled in various parts of Ireland. Some notable individuals bearing the surname include James Tobin (1918-2002), an American economist who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1981, and Pat Tobin (1937-2008), an Irish singer and songwriter known for her contributions to traditional Irish music.
Other notable bearers of the TOBIN surname include John Tobin (1770-1804), an English dramatist and author; James Joseph Tobin (1806-1870), an Irish-American Catholic priest and journalist; and Patrick Tobin (1855-1938), an Australian politician who served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
The TOBIN surname has a rich history rooted in Irish heritage, with bearers of the name making significant contributions in various fields throughout the centuries, from religion and politics to literature and academia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tobin
Among Census respondents with the surname Tobin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tobin 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 Tobin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 15,296
- Black or African American5.0% · 875
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 682
- Two or more races3.0% · 528
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 184
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tobin
Tobin 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
#1,896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,932
+797 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 6.42
Rank movement Down 80 places
2020
#2,012
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,588
-1,344 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 5.88
Rank movement Down 116 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,816 | 18,135 | 6.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,896 | 18,932 | 6.42 | +797 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 80 places |
| 2020 | #2,012 | 17,588 | 5.88 | -1,344 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 116 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 Tobin 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 | #1,896 | #2,012 | -6.1% |
| Count | 18,932 | 17,588 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 6.42 | 5.88 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tobin bearers went from 18,932 to 17,588 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 116 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,896 to #2,012.
FAQ
Tobin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tobin?
Name Census estimates that about 20,169 living Americans carry the surname Tobin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,994 residents.
How common is Tobin?
Tobin ranks #2,012 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,588 people with the surname Tobin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,169), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Tobin.
Has Tobin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tobin went from 18,932 recorded bearers to 17,588. That is a decrease of 1,344 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,896 to #2,012.
What does the Census say about the background of Tobin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tobin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Tobin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (15,296 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tobin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Black (5.0%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Tobin (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 Tobin mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Toibín," meaning a person who was well-mannered or descended from Toibín. 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 Tobin (5.88 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 Tobin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.