Theodore

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Teodoro in BR Brazil, PE Peru, AR Argentina and 7 more, Teodor in PL Poland, CZ Czechia, BG Bulgaria, Theodor in DE Germany, AT Austria, SE Sweden and Теодор in UA Ukraine, RU Russia.

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 18 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◐

Theodore is also recorded as 8 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Arabic given name298K records spelled Theodore3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United Arab Emirates, United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

  Languages: Arabic, Maltese

  Also written Théodore

• a separate given name41K records spelled Theodore3 spellings in the group

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

  Also written Théodore, Thèodore

• Hindi given name4.9K records spelled Theodore4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, South Africa

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Théodore

• Indonesian given name3.5K records spelled Theodore3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Malaysia

  Also written Théodore, Thèodore

• Vietnamese given name3.1K records spelled Theodore3 spellings in the group

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

  Languages: Vietnamese, Khmer

  Also written Théodore

• French (Côte d’Ivoire) given name2.9K records spelled Theodore2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Côte d’Ivoire

  Also written Théodore

• Japanese given name1.8K records spelled Theodore2 spellings in the group

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

  Also written Théodore

• Finnish given name1.7K records spelled Theodore5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Theodorus, Théodore

60 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●

Theodore 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.

• From the French form of the Greek name Theodoros, derived from theos ‘god’ + doron ‘gift’. The name was popular among early Christians and was borne by several saints. Short forms: Theo, Ted. Pet form: Teddy.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A male given name from Latin and Ancient Greek; the name of a saint, pope, several emperors, etc.

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

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

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

• In English, Greek; gift of God.

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• English: from the French form of the Greek name Theod ros , composed of the elements theos god + d ron gift. The name was popular among early Christians and was borne by several saints. Cognates: French: Théodore. German: Theodor. Dutch: Theodoor. Hungarian: Tivadar. Russian: Fyodor. Jewish (Aramaic): Todos. Short forms: English: Theo, Ted .

  as a word

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) — 146 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●

• Théodore Géricaultb. 1791FRFrench painter (1791–1824)
• Théodore Rousseaub. 1812FRFrench painter (1812–1867)
• Theodore Rooseveltb. 1858US26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909 (1858–1919)
• Theodore William Richardsb. 1868USUnited States chemist (1868–1928)
• Spiro Agnewb. 1918USnot in their usual namevice president of the United States from 1969 to 1973
• Albert II of Belgiumb. 1934BEnot in their usual namesixth king of the Belgians
• Theodore Kaczynskib. 1942USAmerican domestic, mathematician and anarchist (1942–2023)
• Ted Bundyb. 1946USnot in their usual nameAmerican serial killer (1946–1989)
• Ted Levineb. 1957USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor (born 1957)
• Tim Duncanb. 1976USnot in their usual nameAmerican basketball player (born 1976)

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 · 1,008 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Theodore?

We estimate roughly 343 thousand people bear Theodore (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Theodore have the most bearers?

Theodore is most frequently recorded in Peru, where it is most often spelled teodoro.

How common is Theodore compared with other names?

In Peru, Theodore is the 211th most common given name of 221,790 given names recorded there.

Is Theodore a male or female name?

Theodore is a male 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 Theodore mean?

Recorded meaning: from the French male personal name Theodore, from Greek Theodōros ‘gift of god’