Tobin - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Tóibín
Meaning: Norman, from St Aubyn in France
Traditional stronghold: Kilkenny, Tipperary
Pronunciation: TOH-bin; Irish Tóibín: toh-BEEN
History of the Tobin name
Tobin derives from the Norman de St. Aubyn, from a place in Brittany or Normandy, gaelicised as Tóibín. The family arrived with the Anglo-Norman invasion and settled in Tipperary and Kilkenny, where they held extensive lands and the head of the family came to be styled Baron of Coursey in the barony of Compsey, Co. Tipperary. Few Norman families became more completely hibernicised: by the later Middle Ages the Tobins were reckoned among the Irish by the Dublin government, and the name today reads as thoroughly Gaelic. It remains most numerous in Tipperary, Kilkenny, Waterford and Cork, and modern bearers have distinguished it in literature, acting and American politics.
Variants: Tóibín · Tobyn
Famous bearers of the name
- Colm Tóibín - Enniscorthy-born novelist, author of Brooklyn and The Master.
- Niall Tóibín - Cork actor and comedian famed for his mastery of Irish accents, from Ryan's Daughter to Ballykissangel.
- Maurice J. Tobin - Boston mayor, Massachusetts governor and US Secretary of Labor, of Irish immigrant stock.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Ryan · Walsh · Kennedy · Brennan · Fitzpatrick · Carroll · Hogan