Thirty years of Tobias
Tobias in numbers
Tobias has risen from 296 boys in 1996 to 461 in 2025, though it is below its peak of 647 in 2016. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2008 and 2011, from 383 to 590. It ranked 132nd in 1996, reached 98th in 2018 and ranks 116th now. On average it was given to 306 boys a year in the late 1990s, 337 in the 2000s, 577 in the 2010s and 534 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-7%496 to 461
- 5 years-20%574 to 461
- 10 years-24%604 to 461
- 20 years+25%368 to 461
- Since 1996+56%296 to 461
- Total, 1996 to 202513,563boys
† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.
Across the three nations, 2025
Each from its own statistics office, never added togetherRank 116 · ONS · 496 in 2024
Rank 198 · NRS · 10 in 2024
Rank 270 · NISRA · 12 in 2024
England and Wales (ONS) count births in the calendar year; Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland (NISRA) count births registered in the year. Each comes from its own statistics office and they are never added together.
Year by year, 1996 to 2025 Show all 30 yearsHide the table
| Year | Rank | Babies | Change† | 1 in X† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 116 | 461 | -7% | 1 in 652 |
| 2024 | 108 | 496 | -2% | 1 in 615 |
| 2023 | 105 | 506 | -11% | 1 in 599 |
| 2022 | 98 | 568 | -5% | 1 in 547 |
| 2021 | 98 | 596 | +4% | 1 in 537 |
| 2020 | 104 | 574 | -8% | 1 in 548 |
| 2019 | 101 | 624 | -4% | 1 in 527 |
| 2018 | 98 | 647 | +5% | 1 in 522 |
| 2017 | 104 | 618 | -4% | 1 in 563 |
| 2016 * | 101 | 647 | +7% | 1 in 550 |
| 2015 | 106 | 604 | +15% | 1 in 593 |
| 2014 | 120 | 524 | +7% | 1 in 681 |
| 2013 | 125 | 490 | +1% | 1 in 731 |
| 2012 | 128 | 486 | -18% | 1 in 770 |
| 2011 | =108 | 590 | +9% | 1 in 629 |
| 2010 | 115 | 540 | +53% | 1 in 687 |
| 2009 | =157 | 352 | -8% | 1 in 1,029 |
| 2008 | =145 | 383 | +6% | 1 in 948 |
| 2007 | =147 | 362 | +3% | 1 in 979 |
| 2006 | 145 | 352 | -4% | 1 in 973 |
| 2005 | =137 | 368 | +17% | 1 in 898 |
| 2004 | 148 | 314 | -2% | 1 in 1,046 |
| 2003 | 142 | 321 | -7% | 1 in 992 |
| 2002 | 127 | 346 | +22% | 1 in 885 |
| 2001 | 143 | 284 | -1% | 1 in 1,073 |
| 2000 | 133 | 287 | -5% | 1 in 1,079 |
| 1999 | 130 | 303 | -5% | 1 in 1,054 |
| 1998 | 126 | 318 | +4% | 1 in 1,025 |
| 1997 | 126 | 306 | +3% | 1 in 1,077 |
| 1996 | 132 | 296 | 1 in 1,127 |
* ONS’s boys’ 2016 file repeats the October total as September, so the 2016 births total is about 932 too low and 1 in X for 2016 is slightly too low. Rank follows ONS: names with the same count share a rank (shown with =). “Under 3” means the name was given to fewer than 3 babies that year, so ONS did not publish it.
Compare Tobias
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Tobias is in the free dataset (CSV and JSON), with the method and how to cite it.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; National Records of Scotland; NISRA. Exact spellings are counted separately and names given to fewer than 3 babies are not published. Figures marked † are Baby Data calculations. How we calculate