Fun Facts About the Name Tobin
- More than 5 thousand babies named Tobin: U.S. records list 5,737 babies given the name Tobin from 1880 through 2025. Even 167 girls received the name Tobin - about 1 girl for every 33 boys.
What Does the Name Tobin Mean?
Tobin is an English given name and surname that comes from a medieval diminutive of Tobias. Tobias derives from the Hebrew name Toviyah (also written Tobiah), made of tov, "good," and Yah, a short form of the divine name. The literal sense is "Yahweh is good," commonly rendered "God is good." The English ending -in was a common medieval diminutive suffix, so Tobin began as a pet form meaning roughly "little Tobias."
A separate Irish surname, Ó Tóibín, has a different background. It is usually traced to the Norman surname de St. Aubyn, a habitational name from a place in Normandy, rather than to Tobias. These two origins - the English diminutive of Tobias and the Irish-Norman surname - are independent, and both have fed into Tobin as a modern first name.
Tobin Name History & Origins
Tobin appears in medieval England as a surname built from the personal name Tobias, formed with the diminutive ending -in. Surnames of this type often began as bynames for a father or an ancestor, so an early Tobin would have been identified as the kin of someone called Tobias. The same pattern produced other surnames from given names with the same ending.
In Ireland, the surname Ó Tóibín belongs chiefly to a family long associated with County Tipperary. According to the traditional account, it descends from a Norman settler family named de St. Aubyn that arrived after the Norman invasion and was later Gaelicized as Ó Tóibín. That derivation is the usual one given in Irish surname studies, though it rests on traditional genealogy rather than firm documentary proof.
As a first name, Tobin is a comparatively recent use drawn from the surname. It appears in the United States and other English-speaking countries in the twentieth century, alongside the shorter related form Toby. The modern given name therefore carries both the English-Tobias and the Irish-Norman surname strands, depending on the family using it.
How Popular is the Name Tobin?
Tobin recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2013. Its best rank was #720 in 1971.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #15,049 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #15,008 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #8,481 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2021 | #6,663 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2020 | #9,489 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2019 | #9,066 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #15,518 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #9,301 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2016 | #6,173 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #8,402 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2012 | #14,865 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #11,267 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #17,910 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #13,759 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #13,133 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #10,501 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #8,354 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1960 | #6,336 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,231 | 37 | 0.0022% |
| 2024 | #2,821 | 46 | 0.0027% |
| 2023 | #2,604 | 51 | 0.0030% |
| 2022 | #2,346 | 61 | 0.0035% |
| 2021 | #1,929 | 79 | 0.0045% |
| 2020 | #1,765 | 87 | 0.0050% |
| 2019 | #1,897 | 79 | 0.0044% |
| 2018 | #1,821 | 84 | 0.0046% |
| 2017 | #1,808 | 84 | 0.0045% |
| 2016 | #1,464 | 118 | 0.0062% |
| 2015 | #1,351 | 130 | 0.0068% |
| 2014 | #1,200 | 154 | 0.0080% |
| 2013 | #1,118 | 163 | 0.0086% |
| 2012 | #1,272 | 139 | 0.0073% |
| 2011 | #1,277 | 135 | 0.0071% |
| 2010 | #1,199 | 150 | 0.0078% |
| 2009 | #1,482 | 113 | 0.0057% |
| 2008 | #1,259 | 139 | 0.0068% |
| 2007 | #1,195 | 148 | 0.0071% |
| 2006 | #1,452 | 107 | 0.0052% |
| 2005 | #1,371 | 110 | 0.0055% |
| 2004 | #1,603 | 82 | 0.0041% |
| 2003 | #1,379 | 98 | 0.0050% |
| 2002 | #1,586 | 78 | 0.0040% |
| 2001 | #1,708 | 68 | 0.0035% |
| 2000 | #1,766 | 63 | 0.0032% |
| 1999 | #2,094 | 46 | 0.0024% |
| 1998 | #2,123 | 44 | 0.0023% |
| 1997 | #1,477 | 73 | 0.0039% |
| 1996 | #2,177 | 39 | 0.0021% |
| 1995 | #2,396 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1994 | #2,257 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1993 | #2,045 | 40 | 0.0020% |
| 1992 | #2,082 | 38 | 0.0019% |
| 1991 | #1,793 | 45 | 0.0022% |
| 1990 | #2,044 | 37 | 0.0018% |
| 1989 | #1,474 | 57 | 0.0028% |
| 1988 | #1,642 | 44 | 0.0023% |
| 1987 | #1,610 | 44 | 0.0024% |
| 1986 | #1,382 | 52 | 0.0028% |
| 1985 | #1,667 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 1984 | #1,627 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 1983 | #1,397 | 46 | 0.0026% |
| 1982 | #1,394 | 47 | 0.0026% |
| 1981 | #1,477 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 1980 | #1,409 | 46 | 0.0026% |
| 1979 | #1,128 | 64 | 0.0037% |
| 1978 | #873 | 98 | 0.0060% |
| 1977 | #827 | 107 | 0.0065% |
| 1976 | #831 | 102 | 0.0065% |
| 1975 | #740 | 127 | 0.0081% |
| 1974 | #761 | 114 | 0.0072% |
| 1973 | #739 | 118 | 0.0076% |
| 1972 | #850 | 90 | 0.0055% |
| 1971 | #720 | 132 | 0.0075% |
| 1970 | #747 | 122 | 0.0066% |
| 1969 | #738 | 113 | 0.0063% |
| 1968 | #823 | 81 | 0.0047% |
| 1967 | #955 | 58 | 0.0033% |
| 1966 | #912 | 64 | 0.0036% |
| 1965 | #1,142 | 44 | 0.0024% |
| 1964 | #905 | 71 | 0.0036% |
| 1963 | #1,011 | 57 | 0.0028% |
| 1962 | #1,168 | 45 | 0.0022% |
| 1961 | #1,104 | 51 | 0.0024% |
| 1960 | #834 | 83 | 0.0039% |
| 1959 | #1,047 | 55 | 0.0026% |
| 1958 | #819 | 85 | 0.0040% |
| 1957 | #1,265 | 39 | 0.0018% |
| 1956 | #1,605 | 25 | 0.0012% |
| 1955 | #1,722 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 1954 | #1,522 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1953 | #2,382 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1952 | #2,070 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1951 | #1,832 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1950 | #2,312 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1949 | #3,659 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #2,989 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1944 | #3,859 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #2,698 | 9 | 0.0007% |
| 1941 | #3,962 | 5 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Tobin Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You like to control everyone within your influence, to shape things to your own liking. If positive, you develop high spirituality, as you have a God's protection. You are sensitive, affectionate, imaginative and cooperative, spiritually aware and prone to self-sacrifice. You can keep secrets and are a good diplomat. You may have healing and psychic powers. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Tobin's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Tobin's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.