Toshia
A feminine given name of Japanese origin meaning "intelligent" or "wise".
Name Census estimates that about 1,062 living Americans carry the first name Toshia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Toshia today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Toshia births was 1976 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Toshia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 322,744 Americans
Peak year
1976
62 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1998 SSA rank
#16,435
Tracked since 1963
Census
Toshia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 934 people with the first name Toshia, which placed it at #13,065 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,065
National first-name rank
People counted
934
934 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toshia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toshia is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Black (45.6%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Toshia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Toshia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.9% · 447
- Black or African American45.6% · 426
- Two or more races3.9% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 6
Popularity
Toshia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Toshia from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 521 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Toshia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Toshia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Toshias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Ohio, North Carolina, California recorded the most babies named Toshia, while New Jersey, Kentucky, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Toshia
The name Toshia has its origins in Japanese culture and language. It is a feminine name that is derived from the Japanese word "toshi," which means "city" or "year." The name likely emerged during the Heian period (794-1185 CE) when Japanese names often incorporated elements of nature or abstract concepts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Toshia can be found in the Kojiki, an ancient chronicle of Japanese mythology and history dating back to the 8th century CE. In this text, Toshia is mentioned as the name of a minor goddess associated with the changing seasons and the passage of time.
During the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE), the name Toshia gained popularity among the samurai class and was often given to daughters born in times of peace and prosperity. It was seen as a symbol of urban sophistication and cultural refinement.
In the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), the name Toshia was particularly favored by the merchant class in major cities like Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and Osaka. This was likely due to the name's association with urban life and the passage of time, which held significant importance for those engaged in trade and commerce.
Throughout Japanese history, several notable individuals have borne the name Toshia. One of the earliest was Toshia Ono (1570-1628), a renowned courtesan and poet who was celebrated for her beauty and literary talent during the late Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Another famous Toshia was Toshia Nishi (1788-1853), a pioneering educator and scholar who established one of Japan's first modern schools for women during the late Edo period. Her efforts paved the way for greater educational opportunities for women in Japan.
In the 20th century, Toshia Miyazaki (1920-2003) was a celebrated author and playwright whose works explored themes of family, tradition, and the changing role of women in Japanese society.
Toshia Nakatani (1946-2020) was a renowned ceramic artist and potter whose works were heavily influenced by traditional Japanese aesthetics and techniques. She received numerous awards and accolades for her innovative and distinctive pottery throughout her career.
More recently, Toshia Ando (born 1975) is a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur who co-founded one of Japan's leading online retail platforms. She has been recognized for her contributions to the growth of e-commerce in Japan and her advocacy for women in leadership roles.
People
Toshia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Toshia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Toshia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Toshia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,062 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Toshia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 322,744 US residents.
Is Toshia a common name?
We classify Toshia as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,154 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Toshia most popular?
The single biggest year for Toshia was 1976, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Toshia is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Toshia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 934 people with the name Toshia, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,065 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Toshia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Toshia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Toshia appears almost entirely female. Of the 945 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Toshia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toshia is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Black (45.6%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Toshia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Toshia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.9% (447 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Toshia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Toshia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Toshia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Toshia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Toshia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Toshia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Toshia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.