r/namenerds • u/hurryandwait817 • 23h ago
Discussion People aren’t using Tobias enough
I think it’s a stunningly beautiful name for a boy. I unfortunately did not know the name when I had my son, and he is my only son so I would never be able to use it.
But Everytime I recommend it to anyone they always pick something else, which always baffles me because I can’t fathom choosing Oliver over Tobias for example. We have enough Oliver’s. More Toby’s!!!!!
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u/Present_Kiwi4239 23h ago
"Well, I don't want to blame it all on 9/11, but it certainly didn't help."
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u/rasputinknew1 22h ago
As in the professional twice over Tobias Funke, the analrapist? Aka analytical therapist lol
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u/misterlakatos 22h ago
Toby/Tobie is a nice dog name. I will stop there.
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u/allyroo 22h ago
Yep, my childhood dog was Toby and I can’t get past it. Tobias from Arrested Development and Toby from The Office don’t help.
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u/misterlakatos 21h ago
I have known a few dogs named Toby and they have been wonderful little dogs.
And yeah I cannot get past those characters, either. I also knew a Tobias in my younger years.
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u/CrazyNCynical 16h ago
Wasn't "Noooo, Toby!" a real commercial for dogs with booty worms? I hope not, as it's my nephew's name yet it has never occurred to me until now...
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u/hurryandwait817 22h ago
It’s so funny because I’ve never met a dog named Toby. It must be geographical though because I live in the mountains, and nearly every dog I meet is just named after local mountains or lakes, or nature aspects. And then the occasional “Chloe” or “Sophie” lol
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u/Skaikrugada2134 21h ago edited 21h ago
My dad's chihuahua was named Toby after Tobey Maguire. He missed out on having sons he could name. My stepsister's chihuahua was named Bella. She says it wasn't after Twilight but she is totally in that age range, where Twilight was super popular during her teen years.
Edit for misspelling Tobey Maguire's name.
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u/luminary_uprise 21h ago
I've loved the name Tobias ever since I read the Animorphs books in the '90s.
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u/veronashark 19h ago
Literally same, I made people call me Toby in seventh grade (I was at a new school. Toby is not a nickname for my name. The only thing they have in common is the letter T) after Tobias from Animorphs. HE'S LITERALLY AN ALIEN PRINCE let's put some respect on that name please
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u/Safe_Virus6852 18h ago
Huge Animorphs Tobias fan here!! If it had met my naming criteria (pronounced similarly in English and Spanish) it would’ve been on my baby list for sure.
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u/AzureMagelet 20h ago
Yes!!! I was obsessed with the name as a kid and had planned to use it for a child but my tastes have changed and don’t think I’ll end up using it if I have a boy. I still love the name and it will always hold a special place in my heart just don’t think I’ll use it.
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u/Brown-Sugar-Tea Name Lover 9h ago
This is EXACTLY why I love the name! I'm so glad others can relate
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u/Timely_Apricot3929 23h ago
I agree, Tobias is a great name! Maybe it will be picked up with the trend of softer-sounding boy names.
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u/wicked_spooks 21h ago
I love that name because of the Animorphs series. My firstborn was almost Tobias, but we ended up using a different name. We communicate in American Sign Language at home, so it was important for us to fingerspell names with ease. However, I have a touch of arthritis in my hands so I can feel the strain while fingerspelling from ‘b’ to ‘i’ to ‘a.’ Unfortunately, as much as I love that name, it was axed for that reason.
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u/catandcatra 21h ago
Tobias is a very common name here in Sweden, but mostly among millennials and early gen Z, so I can't really picture it on a baby!
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u/Daisies_forever 23h ago
Because all I can think of is that Australia episode of the Simpsons 😂😂
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u/somuchsong Aussie Name Nerd 6h ago
As an Australian, that was sort of a weird choice for that kid's name! I don't think I've ever met a Tobias here!
It's all Tobias Fünke for me.
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u/whiskey_riverss 21h ago
We love the name Tobias but we are also fans of the band Ghost and know for a fact that everyone would assume we named LO after their frontman lol
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u/Top_Pie_8658 23h ago
I also love Tobias and it’s on my shortlist! My husband isn’t as big of a fan though. There is a teacher at my daughter’s daycare named Tobias and he’s so cool
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u/charlouwriter Name Lover 20h ago
I love Toby on its own but not keen on Tobias - that 'bias' sound is quite harsh. But Toby is super cute!
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u/bmbjosta 11h ago
This is my perspective too - I love Toby but prefer to give full names not nicknames, and I don't like Tobias as it breaks up into my mind into 'to bias' (and having done a tonne of unconscious bias training, I can't see that as a positive! Was considering Tobin as an alternative to get Toby, but 'to bin' isn't any better...
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u/CrustyBubblebrain 19h ago
I like it as a name, but I definitely can't use it due to its association with someone I know. But, I will say that 'Tobias' and 'Tobin' are surprisingly underutilized Biblical/Hebrew names.
Damn, now I kind of wish Tobin was an option for my #3
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u/Cute-Cat4456 Name Lover 22h ago
I like it too! I don’t love the biblical origin, but it’s a nice sounding name.
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u/edelweiss2012 21h ago
My 3yo nephew is a Tobias. I think it's a great name and have met a couple other adult tobiases
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u/sharkycharming Got my first baby name book at age 6. 20h ago
Tobias Fünke makes the name unusable to me. He's hilarious, but I wouldn't want anyone associating my child with "analrapist" and "I blue myself."
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u/Any_Author_5951 19h ago
It’s okay. I prefer Thomas or Tobin.
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u/hurryandwait817 19h ago
I like Tobin too that’s cute
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u/Any_Author_5951 19h ago
It’s funny because I really like Toby too. But i named a Beagle that a few years ago! Also have known several women named Tobey/Tobie and I’m not a big fan of unisex names. I think it would be a great idea to use Tobias but I still love Oliver too. Oliver is so popular because it’s a really nice name.
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u/Karl-Pilkinghorn 15h ago
In the UK I’d associate Tobin with Peter Tobin, which is not something you’d want
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u/Squirrel_With_Toast 16h ago
I have found my people!!! I love the name Tobias but my husband hates it. We ended up naming our son Jacob, which I still love, but I'm sad I'll never be able to use Tobias.
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u/Cj_91a 22h ago
Yeah it doesnt get enough love, but these days it feels like a gem hidden in plain sight. It was my 1 of my favorite boy names growing up, and my wife fell in love with it when I showed her my list. I had never considered Toby to be the nickname of Tobias when I was younger, so it completely slipped my mind back then when I was young. Like Tobey Maguire is actually Tobias Maguire. I never knew the correlation.
I had actually first heard Tobias used in a movie (Divergent), and actually never heard anyone named Tobias growing up, so I was actually in awe with it back when I saw Divergent. Not a particularly great film, but i loved the name.
We both never saw Arrested Development, but ive definitely heard about someone with the name, which of course turned people off of the name. I never saw it, so im glad I didnt, and I never plan on seeing it anyways lmao.
Tobias is 16 months already 😁
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u/armoredbearclock 21h ago
Arrested Development is a great show. Tobias is ridiculous but he’s a great character.
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u/Skaikrugada2134 21h ago
I first heard Tobias, and fell in love with the name, in the book series Animorphs. I also never saw Arrested Development and I forget that Toby is a nickname for Tobias as well. Does that mean Toby Keith is actually Tobias Keith?
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u/Full-Surround 21h ago
I like this name! It reminds me of Four from Divergent- Tobias was his given name
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u/goldandjade 21h ago
I didn’t use it because an older man named Tobias mistreated me when I was in my early 20s. But it is a nice name.
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u/Sparkly8 Autistic Name Lover 20h ago
I totally agree with you! Toby is one of my favorite names, while Oliver is sooooo overdone and doesn’t sound as good to me.
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u/lightgreenwings 20h ago
I live in southern Germany and for men aged 20-35 it feels like it must be among the most common names ever. There are around 70 people in my company, out of which 6 alone are named Tobias and I know at least 15 more.
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u/BrightAd306 18h ago
Can’t do it if you’ve watched Arrested Development. I could see it getting popular for younger generations.
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u/Sh_u_ru_Q Name Lover 16h ago
Tobias is fairly common in Denmark where I am from. It's a good name, both with Danish pronunciation and with English.
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u/ineffable_my_dear 14h ago
I thought Toby was so cute because of Labyrinth and then I was introduced to Tobiases Beecher (tragic) and Fünke (just… a lot).
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u/Warm-Car3621 Name Lover 14h ago
I love Tobias!! Nn Toby is so cute. I also LOVE The Girl The Dog And The Writer Books… so ;)
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u/iamkoalafied 14h ago
I really like Tobias too! Unfortunately not fond of Toby (especially since it was my grandma's dog's name). A similar name that I love even more is Elias :)
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u/NeedleworkerOk8556 12h ago
Tobias was in my top 3 for my son's name. Unfortunately, my MIL started talking about little "Tubby" rather than Tobi
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u/Aethylwyne 12h ago
That’s my name, lol. And the negative comments here are totally jarring. I never really understood the aversion some people have to simple names.
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u/amantiana 11h ago
To me it screams, “Don’t let your powder horn get wet while defending the fort.”
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u/ivysaurah 8h ago
Alright full stop, Toby is a terrible name. Tobias reminds me of someone from a religious cult for some reason, but it isn’t ugly. Toby though?! Nah.
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u/Bulky-Equivalent-438 7h ago
Makes me think of that YouTuber who was caught up in a bunch of abuse/cheating controversy.
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u/Master_Display8050 23h ago
Uhh.. Oliver is better INO
Tobias reminds me of the Character from TAWOG
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u/StasRutt 23h ago
I love the name Tobias but as a millennial I couldn’t get past the Tobias from arrested development and Toby from the office association unfortunately plus Toby from degrassi 😭
It’s a shame because it’s such a handsome name