Thaddeus
Masculine · Aramaic roots · “Uncertain”
Thaddeus is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 26,057 boys against 32 girls since 1880.
Thaddeus comes to English through the Greek of the New Testament, where Thaddaios names one of the twelve apostles, and it has been spoken in Latin, Polish, Italian and Spanish mouths ever since. It is a long name with a short, blunt front — THAD lands like a closed door before the two soft syllables that follow — which is why the clipped forms Thad and Tad have traveled alongside it for centuries.
How old is the name Thaddeus?
Thaddeus was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Thaddeus alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 18,500 people named Thaddeus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Thaddeus most popular?
Thaddeus peaked in 1918, reaching #307 nationally. Today it ranks #797, 490 places below that high. See the whole 1918 chart.
Where it comes from
From Taddai (Aramaic) to Thaddeus
The story of Thaddeus
The name reaches us in Greek, as Thaddaios, listed among the twelve apostles in the gospels of Matthew and Mark; Latin turned it into Thaddaeus, and from there it spread through Catholic Europe. Poland made it Tadeusz, which became one of the country's great national names — the title character of Adam Mickiewicz's epic 'Pan Tadeusz', written in the 1830s, is a Tadeusz. Italy and Spain kept Taddeo and Tadeo. English-speaking families took the full Latin spelling, Thaddeus, and it has been in continuous, quiet use in America ever since, never fashionable enough to date a person and never scarce enough to be strange.
Meaningscholars disagree
Uncertain; two readings compete
One tradition derives it from an Aramaic root connected with the heart or breast, giving readings like 'heart' or 'courageous'. The other treats Thaddaios as a Greek pet form of a name beginning with Theo- ('god'), such as Theodoros or Theodosios. Neither has won; the Aramaic reading is the older favorite, the Greek one the tidier explanation.
How the name formed
- TaddaiAramaic
- ThaddaiosGreek
- ThaddaeusLatin
- Thaddeus
- Tadeusz
Related forms: Tadeusz · Tadeo · Taddeo · Tadeu · Thaddaeus · Tadas
Pronouncing Thaddeus
THAD-ee-us
Three syllables with the stress on the first, and the 'th' as in 'thin'. A second pronunciation, thuh-DEE-us, follows the older Latin stress and is still heard; both are accepted, so it is worth choosing one early.
Nicknames for Thaddeus
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2016416 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #307reached in 1918
- Change vs 2022
- +1.6%314 in 2025, from 309
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.
Thaddeus in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tadeusz in Polish — same name
- Tadeo in Spanish — same name
- Taddeo in Italian — same name
- Tadeu in Portuguese — same name
- Thaddaeus in Latin — same name
- Tadas in Lithuanian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Thaddeuss among us
people named Thaddeus are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 5,440 born in 2025 was named Thaddeus
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 Noble test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Thaddeus's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Noble climbed just as high around 1901, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Noble's path sketches the road Thaddeus is walking now.
Thaddeus 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
Where Thaddeus is headed
Thaddeus should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Thaddeus beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Thaddeus in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two well-worn short forms, Thad and Tad, both already familiar to English speakers — no invention required.
- A documented line running from New Testament Greek through Latin into modern English, unbroken for roughly two thousand years.
- Ready-made equivalents in Polish, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, so relatives abroad have a version to use.
- Present on American records generation after generation without a fashion spike, which keeps it from sounding tied to any one era.
- The spelling gets mangled: Thadeus, Thaddius and Thadius are all common misfires, and the silent-feeling 'h' after the T is what trips people. Expect to spell it aloud fairly often.
- Two live pronunciations, THAD-ee-us and thuh-DEE-us, mean he may be asked which he prefers throughout his life.
- The strongest association in English is the apostle, which some families want and others would rather not carry. It is worth deciding how you feel about that before the birth certificate.
- At three syllables it is a long first name; if your surname is also long, the pair will get shortened to Thad by everyone but the school office — which most families find they do not mind.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Thaddeus to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Thaddeus? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Thaddeus
Masculine · Aramaic roots · #797 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Thaddeuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 18,500 people named Thaddeus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Thaddeus in 2025?
- Thaddeus ranks #797 among US boy names in 2025, with 314 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Thaddeus?
- About 1 in every 5,440 US boys born in 2025 was named Thaddeus — 314 in all.
- Will my child share the name Thaddeus with classmates?
- Thaddeus will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Thaddeus
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Crue#797 · Everest#796 · Haziel#795 · Calum#799 · Kaisen#800 · Zeke#800 · Keith#800 · Raylan#800
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Thaddeus? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Thaddeus and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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