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The first name 
Theodore

Theodore is a male first name. In very rare cases it is also used for girls.

The name Theodore is very popular!

The first name Theodore is one of the top 100 most popular boys names in the US – currently at #60 in our SmartGenius ranking. Over 1,000 babies each year are named Theodore, accounting for approximately 0.40 % of all newborn boys. In the entire USA, approximately 265,511 people – children, adults and seniors – currently bear the name Theodore. That is 0.08 % of all living Americans.

You won't believe all there is 
to discover about the name
 
Theodore

What does the name 
Theodore mean?

The name Theodore is derived from the Greek words ‘theos’ meaning ‘god’ and ‘doron’ meaning ‘gift.’ Theodore, the ‘gift of God’, is a name that has been used for centuries and is often associated with God’s blessings and grace.

What is theology? Theology is an academic discipline that explores the concepts of God, religious beliefs, and practices, and the relationships between them. It covers a wide range of world religions, and also encompasses the study of religious ethics.

Theodore has many famous namesakes

An American chemist

Theodore William Richards (1868 - 1928)
In 1914, Richards received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, making him the first American to earn this award. He determined the exact atomic weight of numerous chemical elements.

Science fiction writer

Theodore Sturgeon (1918 - 1985)
Sturgeon is an American science fiction writer and critic. He has written more than 120 short stories, several novels and scripts for Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 1969). In 2000, he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

President of the United States

Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)
Roosevelt was an American politician and historian, who served as President of the United States from 1901 to 1909. His efforts to end the Russo-Japanese War won him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. He is one of the most popular presidents and was nicknamed Teddy.

A soldier and activist

Theodore Sampley (1946 - 2009)
Enlisting in the Army aged 17, Sampley served in the Vietnam War. He soon became a Prisoners Of War/Missing In Action activist and is known for his research that identified Michael Blassie as the one buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Go on a journey to places 
with your name

When you hear the name Theodore, you might first think of people. But did you know that there are also places with the name Theodore? Are you also called Theodore? Maybe one day you will visit the places that are named just like you...

Built in 1900,...

the Theodore W. Richards House in Cambridge, Massachusetts was home to an American chemist until 1928. The house was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

In Alabama,...

you can find an unincorporated community called Theodore. It is located in Mobile County and has little more than 6,000 inhabitants.

A suburb in...

Australia is called Theodore. It lies in the district of Tuggeranong near the countrys capital Canberra. It is named after Edward Theodore, a deputy Prime Minister in the 1910s.

A rural town...

in northeastern Australia is also named Theodore. Little more than 400 people live there. The towns economy is closely linked to coal mining.

In Canada,...

there is a village that bears the name Theodore. It is located in the western province of Saskatchewan with more than 300 inhabitants.

The Theodore Reservoir...

was formed by the Theodore Dam in 1964 along the Whitesand River. Both were named after the village Theodore in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Theodore -
the USA would not be the same without him

The name Theodore is as much a part of the DNA of the USA as the Constitution, the Capitol and the Superbowl: Theodore is one of the few boys' names that have been given in the USA every year since the beginning of the name statistics, and thus since 1880. Of course, Theodore hasn't been equally popular in all 143 years - but it's just recently become especially beloved. In 2022 it was even ranked number 10 in our SmartGenius name statistics, making it one of the most popular boys' names in the entire United States.

In years where the graph has no value, the name Theodore was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.

Theodore - in 2022 on rank 10 in the SmartGenius name statistics

In 2022 the name Theodore was given a total of 10,768 times in the USA, ranking #10 on the list of the most popular boys' names. It was least common in 1999 - back then only 912 expectant parents gave their child the name Theodore, ranking it #301 of all male names in our SmartGenius statistics, so there were 300 other boy names given more often in 1999.

Theodore -
well known in all states of the USA, most popular in Connecticut

There are only 386 different male names registered in every single state in the U.S., and Theodore is one of them. However, Theodore is not equally widespread in all states, but people in Connecticut seem to particularly fancy this name – the 5,357 men called Theodore who live here are 0,289% of all male residents and push their name up to #71 in our SmartGenius statistics, easily placing it in the top 100 most common male names in Connecticut. If you look at all the states in the USA together, you can currently find as many as 265,511 people with the name Theodore. Across all regions and age groups, this lands Theodore on position 132 in our SmartGenius ranking of the top male names – of course, the current popularity as a baby name for newborns looks somewhat different, as you can see from the statistics above.

Theodore has 8 letters 
and begins with a T

Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter T is a particularly popular initial letter for boys’ names. That’s because 6.3% of all common boys’ names in the US begin with this letter. By the way, the most common first letters for boys’ names are J, A and D.

With eight letters, the name Theodore is long compared to other names. In fact, 14.5% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly eight letters. 78% of all first names are shorter, while only 8% of all boys’ and girls’ names use nine letters or even more. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long with no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.

With 6.3% of all boys' names that begin with the letter T, this first letter is much more common than the other letters on average. And Thomas is the boys’ name starting with T, which is the most common of all.

Other names with 
T, h, e, o, d, o, r and e

If you take all the letters in the name Theodore – T, h, e, o, d, o, r and e – and put them together again, you can form other names, such as Dorothee or Thoedore.

With hands, flags and sounds 
How to say Theodore

If your name is Theodore and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...

This is how you spell the name Theodore

So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Theodore, you can simply say:

Tiger

Hat

Elephant

Orange

Dinosaur

Orange

Rocket

Elephant

This is how the name Theodore is spelled in the NATO phonetic alphabet

The NATO alphabet often helps people spell words on the phone or radio when there are communication problems.

How do you write Theodore in Braille?

Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.

Theodore

Theodore

You want to tell a deaf person that your name is Theodore

Just use American Sign Language!

The name Theodore is particularly colorful in the Semaphore flag signaling system!

These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.

T
H
E
O
D
O
R
E

Have you ever waved the name Theodore

In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.

T
H
E
O
D
O
R
E

Beeping like crazy...

In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Theodore sounds like this: