Holding steady, #6,143 for boys today.
Popularity of Toa since 2006
Babies named Toa per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 2016, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Toa's real moment was 2025.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2000s | 18 |
| 2010s | 79 |
| 2020s | 70 |
Meaning & origin
Toa entered U.S. naming records in 2006 and has seen modest but steady use, with its peak popularity in 2025. The name is given to approximately 1 in every 122,005 male babies, placing it at rank 6,143. Its strong, two-syllable sound and oceanic associations make it appealing to parents seeking a short, distinctive name with Polynesian roots. The name's trajectory is stable, suggesting it maintains a small but consistent group of admirers rather than surging into the mainstream. Despite its recent entry, Toa carries ancient cultural weight from its Māori origins, where it connects to concepts of bravery and the sea.
Toa is a short, strong name of Māori and broader Polynesian origin. In Māori, "toa" can mean "brave" or "warrior," and is also the name of a genus of fish. It may also relate to the Samoan word for "champion" or "victor." The name gained attention in the United States partly due to the character Toa from the children's TV series "Bubble Guppies" (2009 debut), though its use likely reflects broader interest in short, vowel-ending names. It is almost exclusively given to boys in U.S. records.
“Toa” around the world
Where Toa lands in the latest official birth statistics abroad, matched to the U.S. spelling.
New Zealand
11
babies in 2025
Sources: NZ Dept of Internal Affairs (New Zealand).
Sibling names for Toa
Names that share Toa's style, for a brother or sister.
