Theodore
Top 1000
About Theodore
Classic and elegant but with boyish charm, Theodore has become hit name in recent years, vaulting into the US Top 10 in 2021 for the first time ever and into the Top 5 in 2024. A favorite in English speaking countries, it also ranks highly across the UK and Ireland, and in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
Friendly nickname Theo may be responsible for some of that, though there are plenty of baby boys given Theo as their full name too. Add their numbers together along with those for Mateo and Teo, and they hands-down become the Number 1 boys' name.
Theodore and Mateo are far from interchangeable names, for sure, and some Theodores are called Teddy....or Theodore. But we predict an overwhelming number of little boys called Theo or Teo on American playgrounds over the coming years.
Theodore is a derivative of the Latin Theodorus, a variation of the Greek name Theodōros. The components are from the Greek words theos, meaning "God," and dōron, meaning "gift," giving Theodore the meaning "God-given" or "gift of God." Names with similar origins include Theodora, Dorothy, and Dorothea.
When Theodore Roosevelt took office in 1901, the name Theodore was in the Top 40 boy names, with Teds and Teddys everywhere. After some damaging stereotypes—the chubby Chipmunk Theodore and Beaver Cleaver's real name—Theodore went into a decline, from which it has definitely made a recovery, thanks in part to the popular and likable nickname Theo.
Theodore has been the choice of several celebrities, including Ivanka Trump, Bryce Dallas Howard, Natascha McElhone, and Ali Larter, not to mention being the fictional son of Christian and Ana in Fifty Shades of Grey.
The name has a distinguished history. In addition to being presidential, it was borne by novelist Dreiser, poet Roethke, and French painter Gericault, and it was the first name (spelled Theodor) of Dr. Seuss.
Among the well-known Teds, baseball's Williams and musician Nugent were born Theodore, but Ted Turner was christened Robert, and Ted Kennedy and Ted Danson were originally Edward.
The beloved character Laurie in Little Women was named Theodore Laurence.
Pronounced THEE-uh-dor.
As of October 2026, Theodore ranked #4 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #4 in 2024, Nameberry popularity #8.
Editor's take: The name Theodore is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #126 | 3,228 | 1,680.5 |
| 2015 | #99 | 4,155 | 2,167.7 |
| 2016 | #83 | 4,910 | 2,587.3 |
| 2017 | #61 | 5,970 | 3,225.4 |
| 2018 | #44 | 7,088 | 3,902.7 |
| 2019 | #36 | 7,894 | 4,399.7 |
| 2020 | #23 | 8,637 | 5,003.8 |
| 2021 | #10 | 9,597 | 5,485.6 |
| 2022 | #10 | 10,814 | 6,193.6 |
| 2023 | #7 | 11,084 | 6,479.7 |
| 2024 | #4 | 12,011 | 6,971.4 |
| 2025 | #4 | 13,355 | 7,818.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Theodore.
- Erin
- Oliver
- Henry
- Leo
- Oscar
- Theo
- Felix
- Sebastian
- James
- Murdo
- Elliot
- Arthur
- Milo
- August
- Hugo
- Jude
- Ezra
- Jack
- Jasper
- Miles
Theodore on lists
Famous Theodores
- Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Jr
26th U.S. president
- Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt III
U.S. politician and general; son of President Teddy Roosevelt
- Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams
American baseball player
- Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens
U.S. Senator from Alaska
- Theodore Tillman "Ted" Shackelford III
American actor
- Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass
American R&B/soul singer and songwriter
- Theodore Raymond "T. R." Knight
American actor
- Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser
American novelist
- Theodore Maiman
American inventor of the laser
- Theodore William Richards
winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry
- Theodore Schultz
winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
- Theodore "Teddy" Bridgewater
American NFL football player
- John Theodore "Teddy" Geiger II
American transgender female singer,songwriter and music producer
- Theodore Kelly (b. 2000)
son of actress Natascha McElhone
- Theodore Norman Howard Gabel (b. 2007)
son of Bryce Dallas Howard and Seth Gabel
- Theodore Hayes MacArthur (b. 2010)
son of actress Ali Larter
- Theodore Ignatius Fitzpatrick (b. 2013)
son of musician Michael Sean 'Fitz' Fitzpatrick and actress Kaylee Anne DeFer
- Theodore Vigo Sullivan Gillies (b. 2015)
son of actors Rachael Leigh Cook & Daniel Gillies
- Theodore James Kushner (b. 2016)
son of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner; grandson of US President Donald Trump
- Theodore Kubrick de Ravin
Bilitch (b. 2018), son of actress Emilie de Ravin
Theodore in pop culture
- Theodore Aloysius "Theo" Huxtable
character on "The Cosby Show"
- Theodore
chipmunk in the Alvin and the Chipmunks series
- Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver
main character on TV's "Leave it to Beaver"
- Theodore "Theo" Kojak
character on TV's "Kojak"
- Theodore "Teddy" Duchamp
a main character in film "Stand By Me" and novella "The Body" by Stephen King
- Theodore "Ted" Wong
character from the YouTube series Video Game High School
- Theodore "T Dog" Douglas
character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
- Theodore "TJ" Detweiler
characterin animated series "Recess"
- Theodore "Teddy" Altman
Hulkling in Young Avengers comics
- Theodore "Laurie" Laurence
character in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women
- "Theodore Boone
" series by John Grisham and its main character
- Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby
character on TV's "How I Met Your Mother"
- Theodore "Theo" Nott
character in the "Harry Potter" series
- Theodore Raymond Grey
Christian and Ana's son in the Fifty Shades of Grey
- Theodore "Theo
" main character in Donna Tartt's "The Goldfinch"
- Theodore "Teddy" Flood
character on TV's "Westworld"
- Theodore Finch
character in Jennifer Niven's All The Bright Places
- Theodore "T
Bag" Bagwell, character in TV's "Prison Break"
- Theodore Lindsey Templeton Jr. (Boss Baby)
main character on “The Boss Baby”
Variations & nicknames
- DorekPolish
- TheodoorDutch
- ThaoGreek
- TheodrekrNorwegian
- TewdwrWelsh
- TeodorCzech
- TewdorGerman
- TudorWelsh
- TedikCzech
- TodorRussian
- FeodorRussian
- TheodosiosGreek
- FyodorRussian
- FedirRussian
- TedorikPolish
- TolekPolish
- FeodoreRussian
- TivadarHungarian
- TheodorGerman
- FedorRussian
- TodosRussian
- TeodoroSpanish
- TeodorekPolish
- TeodosioItalian
- TeosPolish
- TeadoirGaelic
- ThéodoreFrench
- FedinkaRussian
- BohdanCzech
- FedarRussian
- TeodusCzech
- TeodomiroSpanish
- FedyaRussian