thee-oh-DOR-ah
Theodora
Top 1000
About Theodora
Theodora is one of the most revival-worthy of the charmingly old-fashioned Victorian valentine names, softly evocative but still substantial, as is the reversed-syllable Dorothea.
The name Theodora was borne by several saints and by the beautiful ninth wife of the Emperor Justinian, who became the power behind his throne. A later royal was Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, the older sister of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Theodora offers a menu of neat nicknames, from the classic Teddy to trendy Thea to the vintage Dora. Theodora also has some cool international variations as well: Theodosia, Feodora and Teodora. It re-entered the US Top 1000 in 2019 for the first time in over 60 years and for a while seemed destined to follow brother name Theodore toward the top of the list. 2024 saw it fall in popularity, though time will tell if this downward trend continues.
Keith Richards named his daughter Theodora back in 1985, while Robbie Williams did the same in 2012, and affectionately calls her Teddy. It was also chosen by content creators Jessica and Claudia Kellgren-Fozard for one of their daughters, born in 2025, a twin to Augusta. In TV's Grey's Anatomy Dr. Theodora "Teddy" Altman was a surgeon.
Pronounced thee-oh-DOR-ah.
As of October 2026, Theodora ranked #726 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #506 in 1908, Nameberry popularity #320.
Editor's take: The name Theodora is a girl's name of English, Greek origin meaning "gift of God".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,232 | 85 | 47.6 |
| 2015 | #2,315 | 81 | 45.4 |
| 2016 | #1,889 | 108 | 60.9 |
| 2017 | #1,898 | 107 | 62 |
| 2018 | #1,411 | 159 | 93.5 |
| 2019 | #853 | 314 | 187.1 |
| 2020 | #836 | 328 | 202.9 |
| 2021 | #738 | 387 | 235.9 |
| 2022 | #688 | 426 | 259.7 |
| 2023 | #776 | 363 | 226.2 |
| 2024 | #812 | 343 | 211.7 |
| 2025 | #726 | 384 | 238.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Theodora.
Famous Theodoras
- Saint Theodora
4th century Alexandrian martyr with Saint Didymus
- Theodora I
Byzantine Empress as wife of Justinian I
- Theodora II
Byzantine Empress as wife of Theophilos
- Theodora
princess of Greece and Denmark (b. 1906)
- Theodora
Princess of Greece and Denmark (b. 1983) aka Theodora Greece, British actress
- Theodora Cormontan
Norwegian,American pianist
- Theodora Keogh
American novelist
- Theodora Kroeber
American anthropologist and author
- Theodora Ungureanu
Romanian Olympic gymnast
- Theodora Goss
Hungarian,American fantasy author
- Saint Theodora of Sihla
Orthodox saint
- Theodora "Teddy" Williams
daughter of English singer Robbie Williams
- Theodora Richards
(b. 1985) American model and daughter of musician Keith Richards
- Theodora Seguso
daughter of tennis players Robert Seguso and Carling Bassett Seguso
- Theodora Isabelle Irene Flanagan (b. 2018)
daughter of actress Kate Siegel and director Mike Flanagan
Theodora in pop culture
- Theodora Lynn
main character in "Theodora Goes Wild"
- Theodora 'Teddy' Altman
character on TV's "Grey's Anatomy'
- Theodora
character in film ''Oz the Great and Powerful''
- Theodora
an opera by Thomas Morell
- Theodora
character in anime "Negima!"
- Theodora Dix
character in "Chronicles of Avonlea"
- Theodora "Thea" Atwell
character in "The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls"
- Theodora Rebecca "Teddy" Duncan
character on TV's "Good Luck Charlie"
- Theodora Dane
character in book/film "Ballet Shoes"
- Theodora "Theo" Crain
character in "The Haunting of Hill House"
- Theodora "Teddy" Reed
character in TV series "Sisters"
Variations & nicknames
- FedoraRussian
- FeodoraRussian
- FedosiaRussian
- TeodoryPolish
- TeodozjiPolish
- TheodosiaRussian
- TeodoraSpanish
More nicknames
- Thea
- Theo
- Dora
- Dory
- Teddi