Tosh
Masculine · “a short form of McIntosh”
Tosh is a short, brisk name, most often a clipped McIntosh or Macintosh. Its best-known bearer co-founded the Wailers, and in Britain the same word means nonsense.
How old is the name Tosh?
Tosh first appears in US birth records in 1971 — 54 years ago. The typical Tosh alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 500 people named Tosh are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tosh most popular?
Tosh peaked in 1977, reaching #2665 nationally. See the whole 1977 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mac an Tòisich to Tosh
The story of Tosh
Winston Hubert McIntosh became Peter Tosh, and with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer he founded the Wailers, before going on to a solo career with Legalize It and Equal Rights. His surname came from the Scottish Mac an Tòisich, the son of the chief. In British English, tosh is also a word for nonsense, first recorded in schoolboy slang, and nobody has settled where it came from.
Meaningscholars disagree
a short form of McIntosh
Tosh is most often a clipped McIntosh, from Scottish Gaelic Mac an Tòisich, son of the chief. It may also shorten other names; the record does not say which.
How the name formed
- Mac an Tòisich
- McIntosh
- Tosh
Related forms: Mac an Tòisich
Pronouncing Tosh
TAHSH
One syllable, rhyming with wash in most American speech.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1971
- Most boys named
- 200631 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2665reached in 1977
- Change vs 2020
- −14.3%6 in 2023, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Tosh in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mac an Tòisich in Scottish Gaelic — related form
Toshs among us
people named Tosh are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Tosh sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is short and distinctive.
- It connects to a celebrated musician.
- British speakers will hear the word for nonsense.
- It reads as a nickname, and many will assume a longer name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Tosh to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Tosh? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Tosh
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Toshs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Tosh are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tosh in 2025?
- Tosh is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Tosh with classmates?
- Tosh will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Thomas#34 · Timothy#203 · Tyler#219 · Terry#1115 · Theodore#4 · Travis#434 · Todd#1609 · Tony#783
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tosh? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tosh and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle