Mostly boys · peaked in 1975
Toby name popularity since 1925
42,341 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Toby (18.5% girls, 81.5% boys). Half of them were born in 1977 or earlier, so the typical Toby is about 49 years old in 2026. Toby peaked in 1975 as the #190 name for boys, and it ranked #979 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 42,341
- Named Toby, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #979
- for boys in 2025 (234 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 81.5% boys
- 7,826 girls · 34,515 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 2.79× its national share
Peak year is the year Toby made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Toby births per year, 1925–2025
1975 was the biggest year for Toby both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1966 and 1971, Toby became 3× more common, from 1 in 5,080 baby boys to 1 in 1,720.
- Steepest fall: Between 1976 and 1981, its share of baby boys fell by 63%, from 1 in 1,430 to 1 in 3,930.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Toby's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Toby.
Decade by decade
Babies named Toby in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 179 | 133 | – |
| 1930s | 947 | 501 | #833 |
| 1940s | 1,360 | 1,240 | #539 |
| 1950s | 957 | 2,124 | #534 |
| 1960s | 724 | 4,359 | #350 |
| 1970s | 966 | 9,884 | #190 |
| 1980s | 447 | 3,759 | #484 |
| 1990s | 366 | 3,127 | #577 |
| 2000s | 582 | 4,855 | #474 |
| 2010s | 737 | 3,403 | #682 |
| 2020–25 | 561 | 1,130 | #979 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
34.1% of babies named Toby from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Toby is most popular
The index compares Toby's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Toby.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 2.79× | 553 |
| Oklahoma | 2.05× | 960 |
| Colorado | 1.90× | 842 |
| Louisiana | 1.82× | 1,174 |
| New York | 1.73× | 4,699 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Toby and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Toby (this page) | 34,515 | 1975 |
| Tobey | 1,693 | 2003 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Toby's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Toby.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Toby (1975).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data