Theodore
Feminine · “gift of God”
Theodore is given to boys far more often — 317,206 boys against 969 girls since 1880. See Theodore as a boy name
The teddy bear is named after a president who refused to shoot one. On a hunt in 1902 a bear was cornered and tied to a tree for him and he would not do it; a cartoon ran the next week; a Brooklyn shopkeeper made a stuffed bear, wrote to ask permission to call it Teddy's bear, and got it.
How old is the name Theodore?
Theodore first appears in US birth records in 1901 — 124 years ago. The typical Theodore alive today was born around 1942, making them about 83 years old. About 500 people named Theodore are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Theodore most popular?
Theodore peaked in 1929, reaching #1393 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 10,539 places below that high. See the whole 1929 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From theos to Theodore
The story of Theodore
Theos is one of the most productive Greek roots in English and one of the words it built is genuinely startling. Enthusiasm is en-theos: having a god inside you. It meant possession — the state of a prophet or a Bacchant — and only softened to keenness in the eighteenth century, when it was still a mild insult for religious excess. Theology is talk about god, a pantheon is all the gods, an atheist is without one, and apotheosis is being made into one. The name is the plainest of them: a child described as a gift, said in a language where that was a complete sentence and needed no explaining.
Meaning
gift of God
Greek theos, god, with doron, a gift. It was a common name in the Greek-speaking world from the second century onward and was given by Christian and pagan families alike, since the sentiment worked either way.
How the name formed
- theos
- Theodoros
- Theodore
Related forms: Theodoros · Fyodor · Teodoro · Teodoro · Theodor · Tivadar
Pronouncing Theodore
THEE-uh-dor
Three syllables, stress on the first. Greek puts it on the third, theh-oh-DOR-os. Russian Fyodor is the same name after a millennium of sound change and looks nothing like it.
Nicknames for Theodore
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
- 1901
- Most girls named
- 192930 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1393reached in 1929
- Change vs 2023
- −36.4%7 in 2025, from 11
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.
Theodore in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Theodoros in Greek — same name
- Fyodor in Russian — same name
- Teodoro in Spanish — same name
- Teodoro in Italian — same name
- Theodor in German — same name
- Tivadar in Hungarian — same name
Theodores among us
people named Theodore are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Theodore
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 Antoinetta test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Theodore's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Antoinetta climbed just as high around 1907, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Antoinetta's path sketches the road Theodore is walking now.
Theodore 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
Theodore beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Theodore in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Greek meaning that is a complete and cheerful statement.
- Four short forms at four different temperatures, from formal to affectionate.
- Recognizable in Greek, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian, though the Russian takes explaining.
- Continuous documented use for eighteen hundred years.
- It is climbing hard at the moment, so a Theodore will not be the only one for long.
- Teddy is what most people will reach for, so it is worth liking the short form.
- The bear association is permanent and entirely benign, but it is not optional.
- The very few girls given this spelling will be read as boys on every form.
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What they receive
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Theodore
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Theodores are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Theodore are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Theodore in 2025?
- Theodore ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Theodore?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Theodore — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Theodore with classmates?
- Theodore will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Theodore
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vina#11932 · Retta#11932 · Missouri#11932 · Iola#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Thomas#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Theodore? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Theodore 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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