Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Tobias

Say it toh-BY-us 3 syllables

Hebrew · “my good is YHWH”

Common in the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, and New Zealand. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 16 more places.

1 in 91 boys born in Norway in 2025. Number 15 there.

Tobias in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 4, rare in 21.
Tobias in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales116 (down)20254611 in 5901042020
Scotland198 (up)2025211 in 9352612020
Northern Ireland270 (down)202561 in 1,3801862020
Ireland676 (down)202541 in 5,9324962020
North America
Ontario (province)341 (down)202439about 1 in 1,5352012019
Quebec (province)295 (up)202516about 1 in 1,8164532020
British Columbia (province)231 (down)202315about 1 in 8681652018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Victoria (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
Queensland (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
South Australia (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
New Zealand71 (new in the list)202554Not listed2020
Western Europe
France466 (down)2025951 in 3,1864112020
Netherlands27 (up)2025334about 1 in 199522020
Central Europe
Austria14 (down)20253981 in 96102020
Switzerland280 (down)2025281 in 1,2862402020
Berlin (city)381 (down)20238about 1 in 1,9391202018
Munich (city)175 (down)20257about 1 in 6241092020
Cologne (city)270 (down)20234about 1 in 1,5941802018
Bonn (city)190 (down)20253about 1 in 1,0571262020
Leipzig (city)Rare: below the complete list20252172020
Rostock (city)172 (up)20251about 1 in 1,0472122020
Nordic countries
Norway15 (down)20252571 in 91112020
Sweden666 (new in the list)20257about 1 in 6,161Not listed2020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)Rare: below the complete list20255992020
Italy326 (new in the list)2024381 in 4,983Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland445 (down)202551 in 25,2813652020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Slovenia223 (down)20256about 1 in 1,2062152020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Tobias comes from the Greek Tōbías and the Hebrew toviyá, 'my good is YHWH'. In the Bible it is the name of the son of Tobit.

2 more paragraphs

It has three syllables, toh-BY-us, and a warm, lively rhythm. Toby is the obvious short form, and related names include Tobiah, Tobia, Tobiasz and Topias. Accented spellings such as Tobías are also used.

Tobias is popular in Austria, Norway and the Netherlands and holds a place in New Zealand. French records show a peak only a few years ago, but it is now falling in more places than it is rising.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
toh-BY-us · 3 syllables · Stress on beat 2 of 3.
Meaning
“my good is YHWH”
Origin
Hebrew
Spellings counted
Counted together with Tobias here: Tobías, Tóbías.
Related names
Toby, Tobiasz, Tobiah, Thobias, Topi, Topias, Tobia, Tobi, Tobit, Tobie, Tuvia, Tobbe
Where Tobias comes from (Wiktionary)

Derived from Ancient Greek Τωβίας (Tōbías), from Hebrew טוֹבִיָּה (toviyá, literally “my good is YHWH”).

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Tobias. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Tobias over time

Rising in 4 of the 16 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 7. Peak in France: 2023.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Tobias in England and Wales: #132 in 1996, a peak of #98 in 2018, and #116 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #132, 296 boys1997: #126, 306 boys1998: #126, 318 boys1999: #130, 303 boys2000: #133, 287 boys2001: #143, 284 boys2002: #127, 346 boys2003: #142, 321 boys2004: #148, 314 boys2005: #137, 368 boys2006: #145, 352 boys2007: #147, 362 boys2008: #145, 383 boys2009: #157, 352 boys2010: #115, 540 boys2011: #108, 590 boys2012: #128, 486 boys2013: #125, 490 boys2014: #120, 524 boys2015: #106, 604 boys2016: #101, 647 boys2017: #104, 618 boys2018: #98, 647 boys2019: #101, 624 boys2020: #104, 574 boys2021: #98, 596 boys2022: #98, 568 boys2023: #105, 506 boys2024: #108, 496 boys2025: #116, 461 boys#132 in 1996peak #98, 2018#116in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996132296
1997126306
1998126318
1999130303
2000133287
2001143284
2002127346
2003142321
2004148314
2005137368
2006145352
2007147362
2008145383
2009157352
2010115540
2011108590
2012128486
2013125490
2014120524
2015106604
2016101647
2017104618
201898647
2019101624
2020104574
202198596
202298568
2023105506
2024108496
2025116461

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in France

Half of the boys named Tobias in France since 1925 were born in or after 2016. Peak: 2023, about 47 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 0 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 0 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 0 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 0 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 0 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 0 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 0 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 0 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 0 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 0.2 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 0.3 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 0.5 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 2 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 2.9 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 7.4 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 11.2 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 16.8 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 11.9 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 33.7 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 42.1 per 100,000 boys20202025: 31.4 per 100,000 boys20252020-2024: about 1 in 2,375 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19290
1930–19340
1935–19390
1940–19440
1945–19490
1950–19540
1955–19590
1960–19640
1965–19690
1970–19740.2
1975–19790.3
1980–19840.5
1985–19892
1990–19942.9
1995–19997.4
2000–200411.2
2005–200916.8
2010–201411.9
2015–201933.7
2020–202442.1
202531.4

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Tobias

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Tobias, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 289, Ireland

  2. 1 in 196, Ireland

  3. 1 in 1,022, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 317, Scotland

  5. 1 in 516, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 230, Northern Ireland

  7. 1 in 79, Italy

  8. 1 in 753, England and Wales

  9. 1 in 203, Switzerland

  10. 1 in 178, Catalonia

All 40 brother names for Tobias

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Tobias's 3 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 118, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 105, Ireland

  4. 1 in 130, Scotland

  5. 1 in 67, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 137, Scotland

  7. 1 in 50, Ireland

  8. 1 in 83, England and Wales

Full-name check

Tobias William

Syllables 3-2Initials T.W.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Tobias

Sisters for Tobias: Eliana, Eliza, Gabriela, and 5 more
  1. ElianaRose and fell with Tobias · Same generation as Tobias
  2. ElizaRose and fell with Tobias · Same generation as Tobias
  3. GabrielaRose and fell with Tobias · Same generation as Tobias
  4. NaomiRose and fell with Tobias · Same generation as Tobias
  5. HannaRose and fell with Tobias · Same generation as Tobias
  6. AliyahRose and fell with Tobias · Same generation as Tobias
  7. MayaRose and fell with Tobias · Same generation as Tobias
  8. AmiraRose and fell with Tobias · Same generation as Tobias

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Tobias

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Tobias's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 10 more places.

  2. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 15 more places.

  3. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 12 more places.

  4. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 8 more places.

  5. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 9 more places.

  6. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

  7. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 18 more places.

  8. Rare in all 24 places we hold figures for.

Famous people named Tobias

Tobias Asser, Tobias Smollett, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Tobias

How popular is Tobias in New Zealand?

Tobias ranked #71 in New Zealand in 2025, given to 54 boys.

Is Tobias rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 4 of the 16 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 7. Rising in: Scotland, Quebec, Rostock, and Netherlands.

What does Tobias mean?

Tobias means “my good is YHWH”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Tobias have?

Tobias has 3 syllables: toh-BY-us.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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