Explore the Family Name Toby

The meaning of Toby

English (mainly Devon): from the Middle English personal name Toby, a vernacular form of Tobias.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Toby in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname "Toby" saw a considerable rise between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, this surname was ranked as the 18,506th most popular surname in the United States. However, by 2010, it had risen to the 18,028th position, marking a 2.58% increase in its rank. The number of people bearing this surname also increased from 1,376 in 2000 to 1,548 in 2010, showing a significant growth rate of 12.5%. The proportion of the population with this surname per 100,000 also increased slightly from 0.51 to 0.52 during this period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#18,506	#18,028	2.58%
Count	1,376	1,548	12.5%
Proportion per 100k	0.51	0.52	1.96%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Toby

The Decennial U.S. Census data reveals interesting shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Toby". Between 2000 and 2010, there was a remarkable increase of over 222% in individuals with Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity bearing this surname. The percentage of individuals identifying with two or more races also rose by 22.22%. On the other hand, the proportion of white individuals with this surname saw a slight decrease of 4.66%, while the Hispanic population increased by nearly 20%. The share of black individuals bearing this surname also saw a modest increase, rising from 28.78% in 2000 to 29.59% in 2010. The proportion of American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals saw a small decline of 3.06% over the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
White	62.94%	60.01%	-4.66%
Black	28.78%	29.59%	2.81%
Hispanic	2.91%	3.49%	19.93%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	3.27%	3.17%	-3.06%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.58%	1.87%	222.41%
Two or More Races	1.53%	1.87%	22.22%