| Tobias | Ari | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | God is good | lion |
| Origin | Hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | toh-BY-us | AH-ree |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1958 |
| Peak year | 2016 (1,523) | 2022 (1,030) |
| In 2025 | 1,201 | 808 |
| Trend | Rising | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Tobias | Ari |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 7,443 | 5,363 |
| 2010s | 9,410 | 7,111 |
| 2000s | 4,811 | 3,436 |
| 1990s | 2,266 | 1,667 |
| 1980s | 1,807 | 1,267 |
| 1970s | 2,102 | 1,259 |
| 1960s | 576 | 467 |
| 1950s | 243 | 22 |
| 1940s | 160 | 0 |
| 1930s | 107 | 0 |
| 1920s | 155 | 0 |
| 1910s | 144 | 0 |
| 1900s | 37 | 0 |
| 1890s | 23 | 0 |
| 1880s | 38 | 0 |
From the Hebrew Toviyya, “God is good.”
From Hebrew ari (also aryeh), 'lion.' A short modern Hebrew name; distinct from the theophoric Ariel ('lion of God'). A concrete noun — its strength associations are connotation, not etymology.
Tobias is more popular than Ari today: about 1,201 US babies were given the name Tobias in 2025, compared with 808 named Ari.
Tobias means God is good (Hebrew origin), while Ari means lion (hebrew origin).
In US records, Tobias first appears in 1880 and Ari in 1958, so Tobias has the longer recorded history.