Teddy
Masculine · “gift of God' through Theodore”
Teddy is given to both — 33,627 boys and 1,775 girls since 1880. See Teddy as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Teddy is a name with two front doors: it opens off Theodore and off Edward, and it has been used affectionately in English for centuries longer than it has been written on birth certificates. It also gave its name to the teddy bear, after the American president Theodore Roosevelt and his much-cartooned Mississippi bear hunt in 1902 — one of the few nicknames in the language to end up in every toy shop in the world. Two syllables, both easy, and nobody has to ask how it is spelled.
How old is the name Teddy?
Teddy first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Teddy alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 20,500 people named Teddy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Teddy most popular?
Teddy peaked in 1933, reaching #239 nationally. Today it ranks #819, 580 places below that high. See the whole 1933 chart.
Teddy appears on these lists:
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- British invasion: UK favorites still rare in the US
- Scottish gems the US hasn't discovered
- Vintage nicknames standing on their own
- Wizarding world names from the Potter books
- all guides
Works in British families too:
Where it comes from
From Theodoros to Teddy
The story of Teddy
English has long made pet names by swapping the first consonant — Robert gave Rob and then Bob, Richard gave Rick and then Dick, and Edward gave Ed and then Ted, with Teddy as the affectionate extension. When Theodore became widespread in the English-speaking world, it borrowed the same short forms, so Ted and Teddy served both names at once. The word entered general vocabulary through Theodore Roosevelt: after his 1902 bear hunt in Mississippi and the newspaper cartoon that followed, toy makers began selling 'Teddy's bears'. The name has been on the US charts since the late nineteenth century without a break, and it still charts in England and Wales and in Scotland, where standalone Teddy has been especially well used in recent years.
Meaningscholars disagree
'gift of God' through Theodore, or 'wealth-guardian' through Edward
Teddy is a pet form rather than a name with its own root, so the meaning depends on which name it grew out of. Theodore comes from Greek Theodoros, from theos 'god' and doron 'gift'. Edward comes from Old English Eadweard, from ead 'wealth, fortune' and weard 'guardian'. Both roads are genuine and both are still in use; Theodore is the more common parent today.
How the name formed
- Theodoros
- Theodore
- Ted
- Teddy
Related forms: Théo · Teodoro · Teo · Teodor · Fyodor · Theodoros
Pronouncing Teddy
TED-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with 'steady'. Pronounced the same way in British and American English, and easy for speakers of most other languages to approximate.
Nicknames for Teddy
High
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
- 1890
- Most boys named
- 1949613 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #239reached in 1933
- Change vs 2022
- +42.0%301 in 2025, from 212
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.
Teddy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Théo in French — related form
- Teodoro in Italian — related form
- Teo in Spanish — related form
- Teodor in Polish — related form
- Fyodor in Russian — related form
- Theodoros in Greek — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas. International figures from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland. Sources
Teddys among us
people named Teddy are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 5,675 born in 2025 was named Teddy
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Buster test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Teddy's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Buster climbed just as high around 1909, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Buster's path sketches the road Teddy is walking now.
Teddy is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Teddy is headed
Teddy looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 35% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Teddy beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Teddy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelling and pronunciation are transparent to English speakers — almost nobody will need it repeated or corrected.
- Works either as a full given name or as the short form of Theodore or Edward, so the formal option can be kept open.
- An unbroken presence in US records since the late nineteenth century, so it reads as familiar rather than newly coined.
- Also in current use in England and Wales and in Scotland, which helps if the family has ties across the Atlantic.
- Widely recognized through the teddy bear, giving it instant recognition well beyond English.
- It is built as a diminutive, and some adults want a longer name available for formal settings. Naming him Theodore or Edward and calling him Teddy gives both; naming him Teddy gives one, well-loved option.
- The word 'teddy' in American English also names a one-piece item of lingerie. It rarely causes trouble in practice, but it is worth knowing before you are surprised by it.
- The name is still strongly represented among older generations in the US, so it may register as a grandfather's name to some ears — which is precisely what makes it feel fresh to others.
- He is unlikely to share it with a classmate, which suits some families and not others.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Teddy to the vote.
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What they receive
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Teddy
Masculine · #819 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Teddys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 20,500 people named Teddy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Teddy in 2025?
- Teddy ranks #819 among US boy names in 2025, with 301 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Teddy?
- About 1 in every 5,675 US boys born in 2025 was named Teddy — 301 in all.
- Will my child share the name Teddy with classmates?
- Teddy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Teddy
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ira#819 · Alfredo#819 · Dane#819 · Alberto#819 · Jrue#817 · Yael#817 · Yisroel#824 · Nelson#824
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Teddy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Teddy and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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