Theodore
- Pronunciation
- [Thee-ah-dore]
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- Gift of God
- Origin
- Greek
Meaning and history of Theodore
Theodore comes from Greek Theodoros. The elements theos and doron refer to God and a gift, giving the conventional interpretation “gift of God.” Theo and Teddy are documented short forms. The meaning describes the name’s construction; it does not establish the religious beliefs or personal qualities of a bearer.
Name-history references: Theodore. Reviewed October 27, 2026.
By Marvin Tang. Popularity figures use an imported selection of SSA records; SSA does not supply name meanings or etymologies. Editorial references, where available, are listed with the name explanation. Sources and coverage.
Quick Facts About Theodore
US Popularity History (1880–2025)
Annual imported US counts for Theodore by recorded sex, from US Social Security Administration records. Highest count in the imported records: 2025 with 13,355 boys named Theodore (boy rank #4 that year).
Source: US Social Security Administration. Coverage: imported US Social Security card-application records, not a complete birth census. Historical coverage is narrower, including top-100 selection before 2000; recent imports also use catalog and rank filters. Missing rows can reflect those filters or source privacy limits and must not be read as zero or fewer than five uses. Spellings and recorded sex are kept separate.
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Look up Theodore across states
Compare this exact spelling in one year and recorded sex list. Missing state records remain unknown.
Observed State Ranks for Theodore
Average boy-name rank across the same 2016–2025 window, limited to 51 jurisdictions with every year imported. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's boys-name rankings. This is an ordinal comparison, not a per-capita rate. States with missing years are excluded. For Theodore the lowest observed averages are in Minnesota, District of Columbia, Wisconsin.
Lowest observed average rank
| # | State | Avg rank | Imported count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | #4 | 2,978 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | #7 | 508 |
| 3 | Wisconsin | #9 | 2,487 |
| 4 | Iowa | #10 | 1,341 |
| 5 | Oregon | #11 | 1,508 |
| 6 | Vermont | #11 | 247 |
| 7 | New Hampshire | #11 | 669 |
| 8 | Nebraska | #12 | 910 |
| 9 | Colorado | #12 | 2,371 |
| 10 | Washington | #12 | 2,964 |
Highest observed average rank
| # | State | Avg rank | Imported count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | #229 | 212 |
| 2 | Alabama | #115 | 673 |
| 3 | Louisiana | #81 | 741 |
| 4 | Texas | #77 | 5,616 |
| 5 | West Virginia | #75 | 338 |
| 6 | New Mexico | #75 | 318 |
| 7 | Arkansas | #70 | 553 |
| 8 | Georgia | #70 | 1,895 |
| 9 | Florida | #65 | 3,719 |
| 10 | South Carolina | #63 | 962 |
Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. Only states with all 10 annual observations for this spelling and recorded sex are compared. Missing states are excluded, not assigned zero. Average rank measures position in state rankings, not a per-capita rate. Local import filters and SSA privacy limits can both create gaps. Coverage and limitations.
Related Forms in This Catalog
Open each form for its own meaning, language history, and exact-spelling usage records.
Famous People Named Theodore
3 notable figures from history and culture who share the name Theodore.
- Theodore Hesburgh is a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.
- Theodore Roethke was a Pulitzer Prize winning American Poet.
- Theodore Roosevelt — US President (1858)
Looking for names like Theodore?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Theodore to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Theodore against names with the largest imported counts for boys-name peers (top 8 with every year imported, 2016–2025). Names with missing annual observations are excluded from this comparison.
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