Tobias

Greek from Hebrew

"God is good"

Tobias Origin and Meaning

The name Tobias is a boy's name of Hebrew, Greek origin meaning "God is good".

Tobias is one of a number of s-ending boys' names that are riding a wave of popularity. With its Old Testament-Dickensian feel, it's a name with a distinguished pedigree.

Tobias is the Greek form of the Hebrew Tobiah, which was derived from the name Toviyah. Toviyah was created from the elements tov, meaning "good" and yah, representing the Hebrew God. Tobias is the name of several biblical figures but is primarily associated with the story of Tobias and the Angel.

A contemporary bearer is Tobias Wolff, author of A Boy's Life. Tobias Smollett was a major eighteenth century Scottish novelist. Tobias Snape, meanwhile, is a Harry Potter character.

The short form Toby has a life of its own, used independently at least as far back as Shakespeare's time, with Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. Toby also was the name of a character on The West Wing. Actor Tobey Maguire was born Tobias and named his son Otis Tobias.

There is also the rarely used but still viable daddy of them all --Tobiah, the name of a rebel Hebrew king

Tobias Popularity

• 276 US 2022
• 26 Nameberry 2024
• 179 Future 2028
• 98 England 2021
• 87 New Zealand 2022
• 83 Germany 2017
• 45 Netherlands 2023
• 23 Norway 2023
• 199 Switzerland 2021
• 11 Austria 2022