Theodore
Meaning of Theodore
Theodore comes from the Greek name Theodōros, meaning "gift of God." It is formed from theos, "god," and dōron, "gift," and entered English by way of the Latin Theodorus. Standard name dictionaries agree on this origin and meaning, and the name has been used in Christian cultures since late antiquity.
It is pronounced THEE-uh-dor in both American and British English. Common short forms include Ted and Teddy.
The best-known namesake is Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. president, who served from 1901 to 1909 and was associated with Progressive Era reforms; his nickname Teddy became linked to the teddy bear. In literature, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence is a central character in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. The name was also borne by several early Christian saints.
In the United States, Theodore ranked 230th in 2011, with 1,573 boys, and reached a peak rank of 4th in 2025, when 13,355 boys were given the name. It has remained in the top 10 since 2021. It is now far more common than it was a generation ago, a steep climb for a name with such a long history.
Pronunciation
British English
- Pronunced as THEE-uh-dawr (/ˈθiədɔr/)
American English
- Pronunced as THEE-uh-dor (/ˈθiədɔr/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Theodore
| Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th US president from 1901 to 1909, rose from New York governor and briefly vice president to lead the Republican Party and champion Progressive Era antitrust reforms. |
| Theodore Roosevelt Jr., eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt, was an American soldier, politician, and businessman who led troops at Utah Beach in World War II and received the Medal of Honor. |
| Theodore Parker was an American transcendentalist, Unitarian minister, and abolitionist whose words later inspired Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. |
| Theodore Sturgeon was an American author and critic of fantasy, science fiction, and horror who wrote over 120 short stories, 11 novels, about 400 reviews, and scripts for Star Trek The Original Series. |
| Theodore Thomas was a pioneering German American violinist and the first renowned American orchestral conductor who founded and led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. |
| Theodore Huebner Roethke was an acclaimed American poet whose lyrical nature rich verse won the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for The Waking and two National Book Awards for Words for the Wind and The Far Field. |
| Theodore Francis Green was a Rhode Island Democrat who served as governor, then as US senator from 1937 to 1961, chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, championed Wilsonian internationalism, and retired at 93 as the oldest senator at the time. |
| Theodore Bestor - Theodore C. Bestor was a Harvard anthropologist and Japanese studies scholar who served as president of the Association for Asian Studies in 2012 and resigned as Reischauer Institute director in 2018 after a Harvard University investigation found he committed two counts of sexual misconduct. |
| Theodore Roosevelt III - Theodore Roosevelt IV, also known as Theodore III, was an American banker, government official, and World War II veteran, and the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt. |
