NameCensus.

UK surname

Tobin

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Toibín," meaning a person who was well-mannered or descended from Toibín.

In the 1881 census there were 1,195 people recorded with the Tobin surname, ranking it #3,374 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 4,084, ranked #1,660, up from #3,374 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Toxteth Park and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Caldercruix and Plains, Cardiff and Bury.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Tobin is 4,169 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 241.8%.

1881 census count

1,195

Ranked #3,374

Modern count

4,084

2016, ranked #1,660

Peak year

2010

4,169 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Tobin had 1,195 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,374 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 4,084 in 2016, ranked #1,660.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,475 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Tobin surname distribution map

The map shows where the Tobin surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Tobin surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Tobin over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 527 #4,760
1861 historical 528 #4,969
1881 historical 1,195 #3,374
1891 historical 967 #4,274
1901 historical 1,414 #3,576
1911 historical 1,475 #3,263
1997 modern 3,900 #1,668
1998 modern 4,027 #1,680
1999 modern 3,984 #1,712
2000 modern 3,927 #1,725
2001 modern 3,843 #1,722
2002 modern 3,968 #1,702
2003 modern 3,861 #1,718
2004 modern 3,938 #1,685
2005 modern 3,839 #1,701
2006 modern 3,826 #1,710
2007 modern 3,900 #1,690
2008 modern 3,941 #1,681
2009 modern 4,054 #1,675
2010 modern 4,169 #1,665
2011 modern 4,061 #1,688
2012 modern 3,957 #1,701
2013 modern 4,087 #1,679
2014 modern 4,107 #1,677
2015 modern 4,118 #1,654
2016 modern 4,084 #1,660

Geography

Back to top

Where Tobins are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Toxteth Park, Liverpool and Cardiff St John and St Mary. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Caldercruix and Plains, Cardiff, Bury and Neath Port Talbot. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Toxteth Park Lancashire
4 Liverpool Lancashire
5 Cardiff St John and St Mary Glamorganshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Caldercruix and Plains North Lanarkshire
2 Cardiff 045 Cardiff
3 Bury 008 Bury
4 Neath Port Talbot 016 Neath Port Talbot
5 Cardiff 039 Cardiff

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Tobin

These lists show first names that appear often with the Tobin surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Tobin

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Tobin, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Tobin surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Tobin household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Tobin is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Tobin is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Tobin falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Tobin is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Tobin, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Tobin

The surname TOBIN is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the medieval Gaelic Ó Tobín, meaning "descendant of Tobin". Tobin itself is a diminutive of the Irish personal name Tóibín, derived from the Old Irish tóeb, meaning "side" or "flank".

The name first emerged in County Wicklow, where the family held lands and prominence from ancient times. Early spelling variations of the name include O'Tubin, O'Tubyn, Tubbin, Tubbyn, and Tobyn. Some of the earliest records mentioning the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Tadhg Ó Tobín, a prominent Irish cleric who lived in the 14th century and served as the Bishop of Aghadoe in County Kerry. In the 16th century, the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters in connection with the battle of Glenmalure in 1580, where a member of the Tobin family fought against English forces.

During the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century, many TOBIN families were displaced from their ancestral lands and resettled in various parts of Ireland. Some notable individuals bearing the surname include James Tobin (1918-2002), an American economist who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1981, and Pat Tobin (1937-2008), an Irish singer and songwriter known for her contributions to traditional Irish music.

Other notable bearers of the TOBIN surname include John Tobin (1770-1804), an English dramatist and author; James Joseph Tobin (1806-1870), an Irish-American Catholic priest and journalist; and Patrick Tobin (1855-1938), an Australian politician who served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

The TOBIN surname has a rich history rooted in Irish heritage, with bearers of the name making significant contributions in various fields throughout the centuries, from religion and politics to literature and academia.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Tobin families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Tobin surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 453 Tobins recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.26x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 453 3.26x
Middlesex 150 1.28x
Surrey 83 1.46x
Glamorgan 79 3.88x
Yorkshire 77 0.66x
Cheshire 53 2.05x
Kent 43 1.08x
Monmouthshire 34 4.02x
Hampshire 28 1.17x
Durham 27 0.78x
Oxfordshire 22 3.04x
Warwickshire 15 0.51x
Devon 14 0.57x
Gloucestershire 14 0.61x
West Lothian 11 6.24x
Renfrewshire 9 0.99x
Staffordshire 9 0.23x
Lincolnshire 8 0.43x
Northamptonshire 8 0.73x
Somerset 8 0.42x
Brecknockshire 7 2.99x
Derbyshire 7 0.38x
Northumberland 6 0.34x
Lanarkshire 5 0.13x
Royal Navy 5 3.58x
Essex 4 0.17x
Leicestershire 3 0.23x
Midlothian 3 0.19x
Sussex 3 0.15x
Bedfordshire 2 0.33x
Channel Islands 2 0.58x
Dorset 2 0.26x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.13x
Clackmannanshire 1 1.03x
Cumberland 1 0.10x
Herefordshire 1 0.21x
Stirlingshire 1 0.23x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liverpool in Lancashire leads with 92 Tobins recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.91x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 92 10.91x
Toxteth Park 46 9.78x
Widnes 45 44.92x
Leeds 33 5.04x
Kensington London 22 3.38x
Llandaff 22 32.44x
Salford 22 5.39x
Everton 20 4.52x
Dukinfield 19 15.91x
Ashton Under Lyne 18 5.93x
Camberwell 18 2.41x
Garston 17 41.47x
St Pancras London 17 1.80x
Cardiff St Mary 16 14.25x
Swansea Town 14 8.38x
West Derby 14 3.45x
Aberystruth 13 17.43x
Birmingham 13 1.32x
Crumpsall 13 39.71x
Portsea 13 2.76x
Southwark St George Martyr 12 5.09x
Southwark St Saviour 12 19.95x
St George In East 12 15.07x
Deptford St Paul 11 3.57x
Manchester 11 1.76x
Preston 11 2.96x
St Woollos 11 11.65x
Walton Le Dale 11 29.47x
Limehouse London 10 7.78x
Stayley 10 33.86x
Westleigh 10 31.71x
Banbury 9 62.15x
Battersea 9 2.09x
Pennington In Leigh 9 33.77x
St Botolph Aldgate 9 56.32x
St Marylebone London 9 1.44x
Birkenhead 8 3.88x
Bromley London 8 3.11x
Neithrop 8 32.94x
Warrington 8 4.86x
Aberavon 7 37.31x
Brecknock St John 7 35.46x
Bristol St Augustine 7 18.89x
Canterbury St Mary 7 26.12x
Clitheroe 7 17.12x
Eastham 7 202.31x
Hampstead London 7 3.84x
Lambeth 7 0.69x
Middlesbrough 7 4.63x
Northampton Priory St 7 10.59x
Parr 7 14.09x
Roath 7 7.56x
Stoke Damerel 7 4.10x
Bathgate 6 15.68x
Bilston 6 7.83x
Bootle Cum Linacre 6 5.44x
Bradford 6 9.23x
Bradford 6 2.14x
Brightside Bierlow 6 2.64x
Chatham 6 5.46x
Dalton In Furness 6 11.19x
Dewsbury 6 5.04x
Little Bolton 6 3.36x
Moston 6 43.07x
Oldham 6 1.34x
Pemberton 6 10.83x
Rotherhithe 6 4.15x
Streatham 6 6.91x
West Greenock 6 3.68x
Accrington 5 3.96x
Alverstoke 5 5.76x
Bristol St Peter 5 60.90x
Hackney London 5 0.76x
Kirkdale 5 2.14x
Royal Navy 5 4.19x
Spittlegate 5 19.31x
St Giles 5 23.00x
St Giles In Fields 5 12.39x
St Sepulchre London 5 29.17x
Whitburn 5 19.63x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Tobin surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 125
Catherine 44
Ellen 41
Elizabeth 36
Margaret 29
Bridget 24
Annie 22
Sarah 17
Ann 16
Eliza 16
Alice 15
Jane 13
Kate 13
Julia 11
Agnes 8
Emily 8
Caroline 7
Emma 6
Johanna 6
Anne 5
Maria 5
Susan 5
Esther 4
Hannah 4
Helen 4
Norah 4
Ada 3
Amy 3
Edith 3
Fanny 3
Frances 3
Harriet 3
Lucy 3
Maggie 3
Martha 3
Minnie 3
Teresa 3
Amelia 2
Beatrice 2
Catharine 2
Cathe. 2
E. 2
Elizth. 2
Florence 2
Hannorah 2
Julie 2
Louisa 2
Margret 2
Olivia 2
Selina 2

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Tobin surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 109
James 78
Thomas 51
William 47
Michael 31
Patrick 24
Edward 23
Richard 16
Joseph 12
George 9
Daniel 7
Francis 7
Martin 7
Walter 6
Alfred 5
Charles 5
Christopher 5
Dennis 5
Henry 5
Peter 5
Arthur 4
Micheal 4
Thos. 4
Timothy 4
Edwin 3
Albert 2
Andrew 2
Bernard 2
David 2
Frederick 2
Jas. 2
Mark 2
Mathew 2
Matthew 2
Nicholas 2
Owen 2
Robert 2
Alex. 1
Athwould 1
Charley 1
Cornelius 1
Edwd. 1
Ernest 1
Frances 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Levi 1
Lewis 1
M. 1
Wm.Jno. 1

FAQ

Tobin surname: questions and answers

How common was the Tobin surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,195 people were recorded with the Tobin surname. That placed it at #3,374 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Tobin surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 4,084 in 2016. That gives Tobin a modern rank of #1,660.

What does the Tobin surname mean?

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Toibín," meaning a person who was well-mannered or descended from Toibín.

What does the Tobin map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Tobin bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.