Teddie
Masculine · “Greek theos and doron”
Teddie is given to both — 1,458 boys and 1,081 girls since 1880. See Teddie as a girl nameSee other names given to both
The teddy bear is named after a hunting trip Theodore Roosevelt refused to complete. In 1902 he declined to shoot a bear that had been tied to a tree for him, a cartoonist drew it, and a Brooklyn shopkeeper made a stuffed bear and asked the president if he could call it Teddy's.
How old is the name Teddie?
Teddie first appears in US birth records in 1900 — 125 years ago. The typical Teddie alive today was born around 1949, making them about 76 years old. About 700 people named Teddie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Teddie most popular?
Teddie peaked in 1903, reaching #846 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 8,868 places below that high. See the whole 1903 chart.
Where it comes from
From Theodoros to Teddie
The story of Teddie
Roosevelt went bear hunting in Mississippi in November 1902 and had no luck; his guides eventually cornered an old bear, clubbed it and tied it to a willow so the president could shoot it. He refused, on the grounds that it was unsportsmanlike, and asked that the animal be put down. Clifford Berryman drew the scene for the Washington Post, softening the bear into a cub in later versions, and the cartoon was widely reprinted. Morris Michtom, who kept a shop in Brooklyn, made a stuffed bear with his wife, put it in the window as Teddy's bear, and wrote to the White House for permission to use the name. He got it, and the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company grew out of the response. The German firm Steiff was making similar bears independently at the same moment.
Meaningscholars disagree
Greek theos and doron, gift of God
Teddie is a diminutive of Ted, itself a short form of Theodore, from Greek theos, God, and doron, a gift, and also of Edward, from Old English ead and weard, wealth guardian. The two parent names are unrelated and Ted serves both. The American peak of this spelling is 1903.
How the name formed
- Theodoros
- Theodore
- Ted
- Teddie
Related forms: Teddy · Ted
Pronouncing Teddie
TED-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Teddie and Teddy are homophones; the -ie spelling is the older of the two in American records.
Nicknames for Teddie
Moderate
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
- 1900
- Most boys named
- 193330 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #846reached in 1903
- Change vs 2023
- +16.7%7 in 2025, from 6
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.
Teddie in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Teddy in English — spelling variant
- Ted in English — related form
Teddies among us
people named Teddie are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Teddie
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Teddie sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Teddie beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Teddie in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Theodore and Edward are both available as formal versions.
- Two syllables and six letters, impossible to mispronounce.
- It is warm and instantly familiar.
- It reads as a familiar form rather than a full name.
- Teddy is the commoner spelling.
- The stuffed toy association is universal.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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Teddie
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Teddies are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Teddie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Teddie in 2025?
- Teddie ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Teddie?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Teddie — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Teddie with classmates?
- Teddie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Teddie
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Teddie? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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