Head to head · Girls' names
Bridget vs Theodora
#724 vs #725 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Bridget is a whisker ahead (#724 vs #725 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Bridget leads 4 measures of 6; Theodora leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Bridget #335, Theodora #671 — Bridget higher
- 1890s: Bridget #485, Theodora #643 — Bridget higher
- 1900s: Bridget #621, Theodora #619 — Theodora higher
- 1910s: Bridget #738, Theodora #605 — Theodora higher
- 1920s: Bridget #872, Theodora #565 — Theodora higher
- 1930s: Bridget #865, Theodora #658 — Theodora higher
- 1940s: Bridget #786, Theodora #653 — Theodora higher
- 1950s: Bridget #390, Theodora #965 — Bridget higher
- 1960s: Bridget #222, Theodora #1345 — Bridget higher
- 1970s: Bridget #155, Theodora #2086 — Bridget higher
- 1980s: Bridget #165, Theodora #2377 — Bridget higher
- 1990s: Bridget #206, Theodora #2755 — Bridget higher
- 2000s: Bridget #330, Theodora #3386 — Bridget higher
- 2010s: Bridget #569, Theodora #2144 — Bridget higher
- 2020s: Bridget #740, Theodora #762 — Bridget higher
Bridget stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Bridget has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Bridget | Theodora |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #335 | #671 |
| 1890s | #485 | #643 |
| 1900s | #621 | #619 |
| 1910s | #738 | #605 |
| 1920s | #872 | #565 |
| 1930s | #865 | #658 |
| 1940s | #786 | #653 |
| 1950s | #390 | #965 |
| 1960s | #222 | #1345 |
| 1970s | #155 | #2086 |
| 1980s | #165 | #2377 |
| 1990s | #206 | #2755 |
| 2000s | #330 | #3386 |
| 2010s | #569 | #2144 |
| 2020s | #740 | #762 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Bridget
exalted one, the high one
From Old Irish Brigit, built on a Celtic root meaning high or exalted — the same root behind words for height and eminence in the older Celtic languages.
Brigit → Brighid → Bríd → Brigid → Bridget
How it traveled
The name begins as Brigit in Old Irish, borne by a goddess associated with poetry, smithcraft and healing, and then by Brigid of Kildare, the abbess whose feast on the first of February still marks the start of the Irish spring. For centuries the name was considered too holy for ordinary use in Ireland, and later became one of the most common women's names there — carried in enormous numbers to the United States, Britain and Australia during the emigrations of the nineteenth century.
Theodora
Gift of God
From Greek theos, "god", and dōron, "gift" — the same pairing found, in reverse order, in Dorothea.
Theodōros → Theodōra → Theodora
How it traveled
The name is Greek: theos and dōron joined into Theodōra, the feminine of Theodōros. It spread with Greek-speaking Christianity and became a name of the Byzantine court — most famously the empress Theodora, wife of Justinian I, whose portrait in mosaic still stands in Ravenna.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Bridget
BRIJ-it
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Irish Bríd is a single syllable, closer to BREEDJ.
- Bridie — The long-established Irish affectionate form; used within families rather than on documents, and occasionally given as a name on its own.
- Bree — The most common modern short form in American use, also given independently as a full name.
- Bridge — Informal, mostly school-and-friends usage; spelled like the noun.
- Biddy — The historic Irish pet form, now rare because the word took on an unflattering sense in English.
- Also Britt, Gitte.
Theodora
thee-uh-DOR-uh
Four syllables with the stress on the third. Some speakers say thee-oh-DOR-uh, keeping the Greek theo- intact; both are accepted and neither needs correcting.
- Thea — The most common short form in current use, and long established as an independent given name of its own.
- Teddy — Informal; shared with Theodore, so it is used for boys and girls alike.
- Dora — Taken from the end of the name rather than the start; also stands alone as a given name, and is more familiar to older generations.
- Theo — Informal, and increasingly used on its own; overlaps heavily with Theodore.
- Also Teddie, Dodie.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Bridget if you want…
- a name holding steadyBridget is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesBridget is 2 syllables to Theodora's 4
Choose Theodora if you want…
- a name on the way upup 110 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itTheodora runs 4 syllables, Bridget 2
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Bridget
Strengths
- One settled English spelling that people already know and can spell from hearing it once.
- A documented line running from Old Irish through to the present day, unbroken.
- Sister forms in Irish, French, German, Italian and Scandinavian, so the name is recognizable well beyond English.
To consider
- In nineteenth-century America, Bridget and Biddy were used as generic labels for Irish immigrant servants. That sting has faded almost entirely, but it is part of the name's history and worth knowing about.
- Bridgette, Brigitte and Bridgit all exist, so expect the occasional letter addressed to the wrong version.
- The name is far better represented among adults than among children right now, which cuts both ways: familiar to every grown-up who hears it, and unlikely to be duplicated in a classroom.
Theodora
Strengths
- An unbroken written record going back to the Greek-speaking Mediterranean, with a meaning that is settled and easy to state.
- Several ready-made short forms — Thea, Teddy, Dora, Theo — spanning formal and casual registers.
- The same spelling works in Italian, Spanish and Polish, and the name is recognizable across most of Europe.
To consider
- Four syllables is a lot to say, and it will often be shortened by others before it is shortened by you. Worth liking at least one of the nicknames.
- Teddy and Theo are shared with Theodore and are heard more often on boys, so a Theodora who goes by either may be asked to clarify.
- It sits low enough in current use that a Theodora will likely be the only one in her school — good for distinctiveness, occasionally tiring when a name needs repeating.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Bridget and Theodora in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Bridget and Theodora?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Irish names beyond St. Patrick's Day
- Celtic mythology names
- Names ending in -et
- Regency names, Bridgerton included
- all guides
Where Bridget and Theodora each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Bridget or Theodora — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Bridget or Theodora?
- Bridget, in 2025: Bridget ranked #724 with 385 babies; Theodora ranked #725 with 384 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Bridget or Theodora?
- Theodora. Over the last five years Bridget moved up 25 places; Theodora moved up 110 places.
- Which is the older name, Bridget or Theodora?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Bridget and Theodora?
- About 85,000 people named Bridget are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 7,800 people named Theodora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Bridgets or Theodoras in the classroom?
- Bridget will almost certainly be the only one in school. Theodora will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Bridget, Theodora and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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