Toby

Toby is a popular male name in many English speaking countries. It is also a popular name for Jewish women because of its similarity to the Hebrew name Tova. It is also a popular name for Yoruba women, however spelt Tobi.

The name is often used in its own right, but may also be a contraction of Tobias, Tobit, Tobin (an Irish surname - "in" Irish, "Toibin"), or Tobermory. In "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien "Toby" is used as a contraction of the hobbit name "Tobold", and "Old Toby" is used as a name for a type of tobacco. The only known Tobold outside of the Shire is Tobold M P Hemming in England/Australia

There are many characters in literature called Toby, including:
* Sir Toby Belch in "Twelfth Night" by Shakespeare
* Toby in "Transamerica"
* Uncle Toby in "Tristram Shandy" by Lawrence Sterne
* Toby the Tram Engine from "The Railway Series" books.
* Toby Philpot, a bibulous soldier from an 18th century song, after whom Toby jugs are named.
* Toby Tramp in "The Mummy" (1833) by William Bernard
* Toby Flenderson from the American version of The Office
* Toby Isaacs from ""
* Toby Ziegler from The West Wing
* Tobias (Toby) Beecher from Oz
*Toby Hamee in the "Animorphs" books by K. A. Applegate
*In The Sign of Four, Toby is the name of a partial bloodhound, who helps Sherlock Holmes track a query
*In the traditional British Punch and Judy puppet shows, the dog is called Toby.
* "Toby," a dialogue interlude from the Belle and Sebastian album "Storytelling"In the London slang recorded in the autobiographical novel "Down and Out in Paris and London" by George Orwell, "Toby" is used to mean a tramp. In Cockney rhyming slang, "toby (jug)" means "mug".

Toby was the name given to the slave Kunta Kinte, whose descendant the author Alex Haley wrote the novel "" about his roots in Africa, his ancestor's life in slavery, and the family's struggle for freedom in American society. Toby was often used as a name for slaves in the United States.