Theodora

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Teodora in BR Brazil, PE Peru, MX Mexico and 12 more and Θεοδωρα in CY Cyprus.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 13 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Theodora is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French given name8.8K records spelled Theodora6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Spain, United States, Belgium

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Teodora, Théodora, Thèodora, Theodóra

• Indonesian given name4.4K records spelled Theodora7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Malaysia, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Theodora', Théodora, Thèódorà, Theodōra

• a separate given name3.2K records spelled Theodora4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada

  Also written Théodora, Theodōra, Theodóra

• Bulgarian given name2.9K records spelled Theodora60 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Bulgaria, Poland, Ukraine, Russia

  Languages: Bulgarian, Polish, Ukrainian

  Also written Teodora, Теодора, Феодора, Feodora, Teodóra

52 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Theodora is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A female given name from Ancient Greek, most famously borne by two empresses of Byzantium.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Swedish, Theodora är en femininform till → Theodor (jfr → Dorotea). Kejsarinnan Theodora (ca 500–548) i det bysantinska riket är ett känt helgon i den ortodoxa kyrkan. I den rikssvenska almanackan 9 november.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In English, Byzantine empress; pers. name

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In French, Variante de Théodora, du grec theodoros, « don de Dieu ».

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Origine grecque, « don de Dieu ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 145 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Theodorab. 500TRByzantine empress from 527 to 548
• Theodorab. 815TR9th-century Byzantine empress, wife of Theophilos
• Theodora Porphyrogenitab. 984TRByzantine empress regnant (984-1056)
• Theodora Komnenab. 1132TRDuchess consort of Austria
• Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmarkb. 1906GRGreco-Danish princess (1906-1969); sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
• Theadora Van Runkleb. 1928USnot in their usual nameAmerican fashion and costume designer (1928-2011)
• Dora Bakoyannisb. 1954GRnot in their usual nameGreek politician 1954-
• Anna Chancellorb. 1965GBnot in their usual nameEnglish actress
• Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmarkb. 1983GBDanish-Greek princess (born 1983)
• Amelia Windsorb. 1995GBnot in their usual namenoblewoman; English fashion model; youngest child of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, and Sylvana Windsor, Countess of St Andrews

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 474 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Theodora?

We estimate roughly 128 thousand people bear Theodora (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Theodora have the most bearers?

Theodora is most frequently recorded in Peru, where it is most often spelled teodora.

Where is Theodora most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Theodora is densest in the Netherlands — about 1 in 179 people — even though Peru holds more of our records for it.

How common is Theodora compared with other names?

In Peru, Theodora is the 281st most common given name of 221,790 given names recorded there.

Is Theodora a male or female name?

Theodora is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Theodora mean?

Recorded meaning: Feminine form of Theodore, borne most notably by a 9th-century empress of Byzantium, the wife of Theophilus the Iconoclast.