Teodora
Feminine · “gift of God”
Teodora drops the h that Greek put in and Latin kept. Spanish, Italian, Romanian and the Slavic languages all write this name without it, because none of them has a th sound to write. Behind the spelling is one of the most consequential women of late antiquity: the Empress Theodora, who ruled the eastern Roman Empire beside Justinian. Its American peak is 1899.
How old is the name Teodora?
Teodora first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Teodora alive today was born around 1959, making them about 66 years old. About 800 people named Teodora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Teodora most popular?
Teodora peaked in 1899, reaching #1278 nationally. Today it ranks #5917, 4,639 places below that high. See the whole 1899 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From theos doron to Teodora
The story of Teodora
Theodora, born about 500, was by the accounts that survive an actress and courtesan before she married Justinian and became empress; she was a central political figure in her own right, credited with preventing his flight during the Nika riots of 532 and with substantial legal reforms concerning women. Her portrait in mosaic at Ravenna is one of the great images of late antiquity. The name spread through the Byzantine world and into Slavic and Romance naming. American records show Teodora with Italian, Spanish and Eastern European migration, and its peak in 1899 sits with the rest of that cohort.
Meaning
gift of God
Greek theos, 'god', and doron, 'gift' — the same two elements as Dorothea in the opposite order, which makes Theodora and Dorothea exact mirrors of one another. Theodore is the masculine. The derivation is settled and unusually transparent for a name this old. The h in the English spelling represents a Greek letter that Latin transliterated as th and that most modern European languages have dropped.
How the name formed
- theos doron
- Theodora
- Teodora
Related forms: Teodora · Teodora · Teodora · Theodora · Feodora
Pronouncing Teodora
teh-oh-DOH-rah
Four syllables, stress on the third, with every vowel sounded and a plain t at the front. English speakers say thee-uh-DOR-uh, importing the th and reducing the vowels. Both are correct for the language they belong to.
Nicknames for Teodora
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
- 1893
- Most girls named
- 192123 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1278reached in 1899
- Change vs 2023
- +11.1%20 in 2025, from 18
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.
Teodora in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Teodora in Spanish — same name
- Teodora in Italian — same name
- Teodora in Romanian — same name
- Theodora in English — spelling variant
- Feodora in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Teodoras among us
people named Teodora are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 80,363 born in 2025 was named Teodora
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
Teodora 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
Teodora beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Teodora in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, transparent and expressible in three words.
- Teo, Dora and Tea are all available as short forms in different traditions.
- It has one of the most substantial women of late antiquity behind it.
- English speakers will add the h and write Theodora.
- Four syllables is long for everyday use, so a short form is effectively required.
- Its American curve is turn-of-the-century, which places a bearer's generation.
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What they receive
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Teodora
Feminine · #5917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Teodoras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Teodora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Teodora in 2025?
- Teodora ranks #5917 among US girl names in 2025, with 20 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Teodora?
- About 1 in every 80,363 US girls born in 2025 was named Teodora — 20 in all.
- Will my child share the name Teodora with classmates?
- Teodora will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Teodora
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elda#5917 · Saloma#5917 · Fawn#5917 · Sarafina#5917 · Jaymie#5917 · Jania#5917 · Kimberlynn#5917 · Patsy#5917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Teodora? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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