Theodore
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
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.
Theodore is also given to girls, where it ranks #13074 in the US.
Pronounced THEE-uh-dor.
As of October 2026, Theodore ranked #4 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #4 in 2024, Nameberry popularity #16.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #126 | 3,228 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #99 | 4,155 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #83 | 4,910 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #61 | 5,970 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #44 | 7,088 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #36 | 7,894 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #23 | 8,637 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #10 | 9,597 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #10 | 10,814 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #7 | 11,084 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #4 | 12,011 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #4 | 13,355 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Theodore.
Theodore on lists
Famous Theodores
- Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt JrBoy
26th U.S. president
- Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt IIIBoy
U.S. politician and general; son of President Teddy Roosevelt
- Theodore Samuel "Ted" WilliamsBoy
American baseball player
- Theodore Fulton "Ted" StevensBoy
U.S. Senator from Alaska
- Theodore Tillman "Ted" Shackelford IIIBoy
American actor
- Theodore DeReese "Teddy" PendergrassBoy
American R&B/soul singer and songwriter
- Theodore Raymond "T. R." KnightBoy
American actor
- Theodore Herman Albert DreiserBoy
American novelist
- Theodore MaimanBoy
American inventor of the laser
- Theodore William RichardsBoy
winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry
- Theodore SchultzBoy
winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
- Theodore "Teddy" BridgewaterBoy
American NFL football player
- John Theodore "Teddy" Geiger IIBoy
American transgender female singer,songwriter and music producer
- Theodore Kelly (b. 2000)Boy
son of actress Natascha McElhone
- Theodore Norman Howard Gabel (b. 2007)Boy
son of Bryce Dallas Howard and Seth Gabel
- Theodore Hayes MacArthur (b. 2010)Boy
son of actress Ali Larter
- Theodore Ignatius Fitzpatrick (b. 2013)Boy
son of musician Michael Sean 'Fitz' Fitzpatrick and actress Kaylee Anne DeFer
- Theodore Vigo Sullivan Gillies (b. 2015)Boy
son of actors Rachael Leigh Cook & Daniel Gillies
- Theodore James Kushner (b. 2016)Boy
son of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner; grandson of US President Donald Trump
- Theodore Kubrick de RavinBoy
Bilitch (b. 2018), son of actress Emilie de Ravin
Theodore in pop culture
- Theodore Aloysius "Theo" HuxtableBoy
character on "The Cosby Show"
- TheodoreBoy
chipmunk in the Alvin and the Chipmunks series
- Theodore "Beaver" CleaverBoy
main character on TV's "Leave it to Beaver"
- Theodore "Theo" KojakBoy
character on TV's "Kojak"
- Theodore "Teddy" DuchampBoy
a main character in film "Stand By Me" and novella "The Body" by Stephen King
- Theodore "Ted" WongBoy
character from the YouTube series Video Game High School
- Theodore "T Dog" DouglasBoy
character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
- Theodore "TJ" DetweilerBoy
characterin animated series "Recess"
- Theodore "Teddy" AltmanBoy
Hulkling in Young Avengers comics
- Theodore "Laurie" LaurenceBoy
character in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women
- "Theodore BooneBoy
" series by John Grisham and its main character
- Theodore Evelyn "Ted" MosbyBoy
character on TV's "How I Met Your Mother"
- Theodore "Theo" NottBoy
character in the "Harry Potter" series
- Theodore Raymond GreyBoy
Christian and Ana's son in the Fifty Shades of Grey
- Theodore "TheoBoy
" main character in Donna Tartt's "The Goldfinch"
- Theodore "Teddy" FloodBoy
character on TV's "Westworld"
- Theodore FinchBoy
character in Jennifer Niven's All The Bright Places
- Theodore "TBoy
Bag" Bagwell, character in TV's "Prison Break"
- Theodore Lindsey Templeton Jr. (Boss Baby)Boy
main character on “The Boss Baby”