Toby
Pronounced T OW1 B IY0 (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1975
- 143 years in use
- 2 spellings
How popular is Toby?
Toby is a name given to both boys and girls, and first appears in 1882. It has been given to 47,649 children — the 559th most common boys' name on record.
It has been slipping, down 47% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1975, when 1,266 children were given it.
Two other spellings are counted in that total — Tobey and Tobie — because they are pronounced identically.
Roughly 22% of children named Toby are girls, so the split is a real one rather than a rounding error.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Toby and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Tobey
- Tobie
Characteristics
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- T OW1 B IY0
- Stress pattern:
- 10
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Toby
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Toby
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Toby?
- Toby ranks 559th among boys' names in US records, with 47,649 births since 1882. Over the past decade it accounts for 2,524.
- Is Toby a unisex name?
- Yes. About 22% of children given the name are girls, which is a genuine split rather than a rounding error.
- When was Toby most popular?
- 1975, when 1,266 children were given the name. It has been in use for 143 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Toby spelled?
- Tobey, Tobie. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.