Theodore

Meaning: Gift of God
Origin: Greek

Nicknames: Ted, Teddy, Theo, Tedd, Teddie

Boy's name · #4 in the US (2025) · Comeback

Popularity over time

Theodore was #30 in 1904, slipped to #314 by 1999, and reached #4 in 2024 and has held it since. About 317,000 boys have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

US births of Theodore rose from 252 in 1899 to 834 in 1904, as Theodore Roosevelt went from governor of New York to president.

Across the states

See where Theodore is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states, the #1 boy's name in 1 of them. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

Theodore is especially popular in Canada, Australia (NSW), and Australia (QLD).

#2 in Canada (2025) · #3 in Australia (NSW) (2025) · #3 in Australia (QLD) (2025) · #5 in Australia (VIC) (2025) · #5 in New Zealand (2025) · #9 in England & Wales (2025) · #39 in Scotland (2025) · #40 in N. Ireland (2025) · #44 in Ireland (2025) · #115 in Sweden (2025) · #198 in Belgium (2025) · #207 in France (2025) and 7 more.

Famous Theodores

Theodore Roosevelt — President of the United States from 1901 to 1909 (1858–1919)
Theodore Dreiser — American novelist and journalist (1871–1945)
Theodore I — Head of the Catholic Church from 642 to 649 (died 649)
Theodore II — Head of the Catholic Church in 897 (840–897)
Théodore Géricault — French painter (1791–1824)
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. — US Army Medal of Honor recipient (1887–1944)
Theodore von Kármán — Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist (1881–1963)
Theodore Bikel — Austrian-American actor and folk musician (1924–2015)
Theodore Sturgeon — American speculative fiction writer (1918–1985)
Theodore I Laskaris — Emperor of Nicaea from 1205 to 1221 (1174–1221)

In stories & tradition

Theodore (Ted Mosby) — Fictional character on the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother"
Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell — Character on American television series Prison Break
Theodore Nott — Harry Potter

What Theodores become

Among 1,944 notable people named Theodore:

Lawyers & judges appear 2.13× more often than among typical names — e.g. Theodore Balsamon, Byzantine legal scholar and Greek-Orthodox patriarch of Antioch (born c. 1140).

Spellings & nicknames

About 3,700 boys a year are given Theo as their full name and 230 Teddy.

Similar names: Theo · Oliver · Leo · Elias · Levi · Jack

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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