Toby
Meaning of Toby
Toby twirls onto the scene like a pint-sized troubadour—short, spry, and forever humming a sunny tune. A friendly diminutive of the Hebrew classic Tobias (“God is good”), it first crossed the Channel with medieval pilgrims, then settled comfortably into English and American storybooks, sitcom scripts, and playground roll calls. Literary buffs hear echoes of kind-hearted Uncle Toby from Tristram Shandy, TV fans picture earnest Toby Ziegler debating policy in The West Wing or long-suffering Toby Flenderson dodging Michael Scott’s jabs, and fantasy lovers remember the cooing baby Toby whisked away in Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. Although the name’s golden age glittered brightest in the late ’70s and early ’80s, its steady perch around the mid-700s today proves Toby still has spring in his (or her!) step—an upbeat, unisex choice that feels as approachable as a neighbor’s front porch and as timeless as the promise tucked inside its meaning.
Pronunciation
British English
- Pronunced as TOH-bee (/ˈtɒbi/)
American English
- Pronunced as TOH-bee (/ˈtoʊbi/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Toby
| Toby Keith was an American country singer, songwriter, actor, and businessman. |
| Toby Stephens is an English actor best known as Bond villain Gustav Graves in Die Another Day and Captain Flint in Black Sails. |
| Toby Slater was an English singer-songwriter best known for fronting the 1990s indie pop band Catch. |
| Toby Froud, famous as the baby wished away to the goblins in Labyrinth, grew up to become a puppeteer, filmmaker, and design supervisor for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. |
| Toby Regbo is an English actor best known for playing Francis II of France in the TV drama Reign. |
| Toby Kebbell is an English actor known for films like RocknRolla, War Horse and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, along with the TV series Servant. |
| Toby Schmitz is an Australian actor and director who also writes plays and novels. |
| Toby Simkin was an English theatre producer known for his work on Broadway and in London's West End who later moved to Shanghai to build a national theatre network across China. |
| Toby Gard is an English video game designer best known as the co-creator of Lara Croft, the record-setting heroine of the Tomb Raider franchise. |
| Toby J. Heytens - Toby Heytens is an American law professor and federal appeals judge on the Fourth Circuit who served as Virginia's solicitor general from 2018 to 2021. |
| Toby King is a rugby league centre for the London Broncos who has represented Ireland and England internationally. |
| Toby Moll - Tobias Mortimer Moll was a rugby union player from Cape Town who earned his only South African cap against the British Isles in 1910. |
| Toby Collyer - Tobias Collyer is an English footballer who plays defensive midfield for West Bromwich Albion. |
| Toby Martin is an Australian singer-songwriter and academic who fronted the Sydney band Youth Group before launching a solo career in 2012. |
