Tobin (surname)

Tobin (Gaelic;Tóibín, Irish pronunciation: [t̪ˠoːˈbʲiːnʲ], from the Norman surname; de St. Aubyn; originated with Saint Albinus) is an Irish surname.

The surname Tobin derives from 'tóibín', the Irish version of St Aubyn, which is of Norman-French origin. The Anglo-French St Aubyn family arrived in Ireland in the wake of the Norman Invasion in the 12th century and settled in Counties Tipperary and Kilkenny, and subsequently spread to the neighbouring counties of Cork and Waterford.

By the 1440s there were three major Tobin clans established in south east Tipperary, as well as the senior line in Kilkenny. The Tobins were an eminent family in County Tipperary in medieval times, and the head of the family was known as the Baron of Coursey, although this was not an officially recognised title. The 14th century Annals of Ireland, by Kilkenny Franciscan John Clyn, described the Tobins' as 'a turbulent sect more dreaded by the English than the native Irish'. Ballytobin in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland is named after them. It means Tobins' town and may indicate their exact origin.

A branch of the family who were among the Wild Geese, settled at Nantes in the country of origin, and the best known of these was Edmund Marquis de Tobin (1692 - 1747), who was killed in action in the War of Austrian Succession.

Another branch of the Tobins' settled in Newfoundland and prospered there.