Given name & surname
Tobias
“The Lord is good”
Tobias is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “The Lord is good.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “The Lord is good.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
In Latin usage, Tobias developed from Τωβίας.
The story
The name appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Tobias through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 29,322
- 29,322 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 1,523 babies
- 2025
- 1,201
- #283 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −9%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,201 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 283 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 9.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,523 in 2016. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (104). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 20,558 as a first name in 2020; 13,875 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Tobias’s family of names
In English usage, Tobias has a diminutive in Toby. Tobias has a feminine form in Tobi. In German usage, Tobias has a conventional equivalent in the English form Tobin.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Tobias has relatives in 17 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
24 related names in 17 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 27
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Tobyvariant · English
- Tobivariant
- Tobinvariant · English
- Tobiahvariant
- Tobievariant · French
- Tobeyvariant
- Tobynvariant
- Tobyasvariant
Show 19 moreShow fewer
Across languages 23
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Tobias
- Tobey MaguireAmerican actor and film producer (born 1975)
- Tobias AsserDutch lawyer and legal scholar (1838-1913)
- Tobias SmollettScottish writer and surgeon (1721–1771)
- Toby JonesBritish actorborn 1966
- Tobias LinderothSwedish association football playerborn 1979
- Tobias Wolfffiction writer, memoirist (b. 1945)
- Tobias MayerGerman astronomer1723–1762
- Tobias MenziesEnglish actor (born 1974)
- Tobias HysénSwedish association football playerborn 1982
Characters named Tobias: Tobias Whale (villain in DC Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Tobias, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ozias
“power of Yah” · “Yah is strong”
>99% boys
Gideon
“one who cuts down” · “a mighty warrior; one who fells trees”
>99% boys
Abel
“the life force; breath”
>99% boys
Elias
“Jehovah is my God” · “yahweh is God”
>99% boys
Judah
“praised” · “one who praises God”
98% boys · 2% girls
Eli
“one who has ascended; my God on high”
99% boys · 1% girls
Ananias
“Yah has been gracious” · “graciously given of Yah”
>99% boys
Ezekiel
“God strengthens” · “strengthened by God”
>99% boys