Unisex name ★ peaked 1949

Teddy

Gender Unisex · 5% girls Rank 2025 #823 Trend ↑ Rising 130%

A diminutive of the male given names Edward and Theodore, or of their diminutives Ted and Tedd.

Rank 2025
#823
among boys · ↑72 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
357
named Teddy · +15% vs 2024
How common
1 in 5,675
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1949
637 babies
All-time total
35,402
#633 all-time among boys
First recorded
1890
in Social Security records

Teddy popularity over time

35,402 babies have been named Teddy since 1890, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – 18 18 2 – #934
1900s 20 159 179 18 +894% #505
1910s 70 1,174 1,244 124 +595% #362
1920s 161 2,967 3,128 313 +151% #286
1930s 229 4,385 4,614 461 +48% #239
1940s 340 5,145 5,485 549 +19% #253
1950s 221 5,416 5,637 564 +3% #289
1960s 100 5,280 5,380 538 -5% #318
1970s 58 3,009 3,067 307 -43% #416
1980s 55 1,950 2,005 201 -35% #542
1990s 91 1,211 1,302 130 -35% #792
2000s 29 779 808 81 -38% #1,407
2010s 129 830 959 96 +19% #1,449
2020s (to 2025) 272 1,304 1,576 263 +174% #823

Where Teddy is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 347 0.20 outside top 500
2027 392 0.23 outside top 500
2028 434 0.25 outside top 500
2029 474 0.28 outside top 500
2030 511 0.30 outside top 500

Where Teddy is most popular

Boys named Teddy per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.135 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, Massachusetts, and Iowa.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Teddy born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Utah 38 0.398 +194%
Massachusetts 48 0.349 +158%
Iowa 18 0.261 +93%
Oklahoma 20 0.226 +67%
Minnesota 25 0.204 +51%
New York 88 0.203 +50%
Indiana 31 0.193 +43%
North Carolina 47 0.184 +36%
Tennessee 32 0.177 +31%
Wisconsin 21 0.177 +31%
Kentucky 16 0.159 +18%
Louisiana 16 0.156 +16%
Alabama 17 0.156 +15%
Illinois 38 0.149 +10%
Michigan 25 0.122 -10%
Ohio 32 0.121 -11%
South Carolina 12 0.116 -14%
Nebraska 5 0.115 -15%
Georgia 29 0.114 -15%
California 95 0.104 -23%
Texas 85 0.096 -29%
Missouri 13 0.094 -31%
Florida 44 0.093 -31%
Maryland 11 0.092 -32%
Pennsylvania 23 0.087 -36%
Colorado 11 0.085 -37%
Arizona 13 0.079 -41%
Oregon 6 0.079 -42%
Virginia 13 0.069 -49%
New Jersey 8 0.040 -71%
Washington 5 0.031 -77%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Teddy

Teddy is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #823 in 2025 with 301 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1890, 35,402 American babies have been named Teddy, about 95% boys and 5% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1949, when 637 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Teddy stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Teddy?

The median living Teddy is about 59 years old; half are between 40 and 71. An estimated 22 thousand people named Teddy are alive in the United States today.

median 59 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Teddy year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 56 #2,994 301 #823
2024 45 #3,507 265 #895
2023 62 #2,785 222 #996
2022 44 #3,588 212 #1,043
2021 38 #3,931 169 #1,169
2020 27 #4,866 135 #1,334
2019 28 #4,893 121 #1,449
2018 18 #6,760 99 #1,647
2017 12 #9,295 97 #1,641
2016 14 #8,354 84 #1,808
2015 9 #11,752 91 #1,716
2014 19 #6,684 72 #1,995
2013 10 #10,936 65 #2,088
2012 7 #14,846 63 #2,151
2011 12 #9,673 69 #1,998
2010 – – 69 #2,005
2009 – – 80 #1,849
2008 – – 73 #1,966
2007 5 #20,298 73 #1,944
2006 – – 78 #1,785
2005 6 #16,263 77 #1,739
2004 5 #18,575 68 #1,831
2003 – – 79 #1,610
2002 5 #17,863 76 #1,607
2001 8 #11,958 86 #1,450
2000 – – 89 #1,407
1995 16 #5,924 95 #1,191
1990 – – 165 #792
1985 5 #12,324 149 #725
1980 – – 251 #542
1975 10 #5,950 277 #482
1970 7 #6,996 377 #422
1965 8 #5,251 524 #329
1960 14 #3,497 591 #321
1955 23 #2,336 486 #337
1950 27 #1,867 549 #289
1945 45 #1,184 472 #276
1940 28 #1,469 451 #263
1935 20 #1,772 414 #267
1930 13 #2,541 417 #278
1925 18 #2,182 262 #367
1920 7 #4,343 238 #387
1915 5 #4,881 132 #486
1910 – – 23 #619
1905 5 #2,201 21 #505
1900 – – 16 #646
1895 – – – –
1890 – – 6 #986
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Teddy

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Teddy Pendergrass Teddy Pendergrass American soul and R&B singer-songwriter (1950–2010) Contemporary
  2. 2 Teddy Sheringham Teddy Sheringham English football player and manager (born 1966) Contemporary
  3. 3 Teddy Riley Teddy Riley American record producer (born 1967) Contemporary
  4. 4 Teddy Park American rapper and music producer b. 1978 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Teddy Geiger Teddy Geiger American singer-songwriter (born 1988) Contemporary
  6. 6 Teddy Sinclair Teddy Sinclair English singer-songwriter (born 1986) Contemporary
  7. 7 Teddy Sears Teddy Sears American actor b. 1977 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Teddy Riner Teddy Riner French heavyweight judoka (born 1989) Contemporary
  9. 9 Teddy Dunn Teddy Dunn American lawyer and former actor b. 1980 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Teddy Wilson Teddy Wilson American jazz pianist (1912–1986) Contemporary
  11. 11 Teddy Kollek Teddy Kollek Israeli politician (1911–2007) Contemporary
  12. 12 Teddy Lučić Teddy Lučić Swedish footballer and manager b. 1973 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Teddy Mayer Teddy Mayer American businessman 1935–2009 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Teddy Scholten Teddy Scholten Dutch singer and television presenter (1926–2010) Contemporary
  15. 15 Teddy Tamgho Teddy Tamgho French triple jumper b. 1989 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Teddy Pilette Teddy Pilette Belgian racing driver (born 1942) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Teddy, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Teddy?

The median living Teddy is about 59 years old. Half of all living Teddys are between 40 and 71 years old.

How many people named Teddy are alive today?

An estimated 22 thousand people named Teddy are alive in the United States, based on 35,402 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Teddy mean?

A diminutive of the male given names Edward and Theodore, or of their diminutives Ted and Tedd.

How popular is the name Teddy in 2025?

Teddy ranked #823 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 301 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Teddy?

35,402 babies have been named Teddy in the United States since 1890, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Teddy most popular?

Teddy peaked in 1949, when 637 newborns received the name.

Is Teddy a boy or girl name?

Teddy is used for both: about 5% of babies named Teddy have been girls and 95% boys.

Is the name Teddy rising or falling?

Teddy is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Teddy become more popular?

Teddy is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 511 boys named Teddy in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Teddy?

Well-known people named Teddy include Teddy Pendergrass (singer), Teddy Sheringham (soccer player), Teddy Riley (musician).

Names like Teddy

Names that sound and feel close to Teddy: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Teddy with similar names → More names starting with T →