Theodore

Did you know?

A few things about Theodore you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Theodore

Theodore Dreiser

American novelist and journalist (1871–1945)

Choose Theodore and your child shares a first name with Theodore Dreiser, an American novelist and journalist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Theodore, like who?” Theodore Dreiser's Wikipedia article is available in 78 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Theodore Dreiser on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Carl Van Vechten, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 128 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Theodore, 13,355 babies in all. In a school of 500 kids, you'd expect to meet about 2 Theodores.
• 📜HistoryTheodore has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Theodores, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearTheodore is at its all-time high right now: #4 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowTheodore is 16× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 2,103 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 128.
• 📍Where it's lovedTheodore is the #1 boy name in 6 states, including Kansas, Maine and Michigan. It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Greek, Theodore means “gift of God”. Our records link it to Greek and Latin roots.
• 🌍OriginTheodore is the most popular Greek boy name in the US. That's out of 2,023 Greek boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Theodore

Theodore is a boy name of Greek and Latin origin meaning “gift of God”. It has 8 letters and 2 syllables, starting with T and ending in “-ore”. US birth records list Theodore for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #4 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #4, with 13,355 babies.

Origin:Greek namesLatin names