boys' name ★ peaked 2025

Theodore

Meaning god Gender Boy Rank 2025 #4 Trend ↑ Rising 60%

Learned borrowing from Latin Theodōrus, borrowed from Ancient Greek Θεόδωρος (Theódōros), from θεός (theós, “god”) + δῶρον (dôron, “gift”).

Rank 2025
#4
among boys · unchanged vs 2024
Babies in 2025
13,362
named Theodore · +11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 128
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
13,362 babies
All-time total
318,175
#110 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Theodore popularity over time

318,175 babies have been named Theodore since 1880, 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
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 2,176 2,176 218 – #69
1890s – 2,300 2,300 230 +6% #75
1900s 29 6,490 6,519 652 +183% #30
1910s 98 21,106 21,204 2,120 +225% #52
1920s 182 31,287 31,469 3,147 +48% #62
1930s 131 24,957 25,088 2,509 -20% #67
1940s 68 26,249 26,317 2,632 +5% #90
1950s 94 29,050 29,144 2,914 +11% #99
1960s 101 21,288 21,389 2,139 -27% #142
1970s 91 13,567 13,658 1,366 -36% #160
1980s 88 11,958 12,046 1,205 -12% #200
1990s – 10,113 10,113 1,011 -16% #233
2000s – 10,556 10,556 1,056 +4% #276
2010s 19 40,530 40,549 4,055 +284% #36
2020s (to 2025) 68 65,579 65,647 10,941 +170% #4

Where Theodore 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 14,494 8.49 #4
2027 15,538 9.10 #3
2028 16,485 9.65 #3
2029 17,334 10.1 #3
2030 18,091 10.6 #3

Where Theodore is most popular

Boys named Theodore per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 6.59 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

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 Theodore 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
Vermont 144 22.9 +248%
New Hampshire 436 19.6 +198%
Maine 360 18.6 +181%
District of Columbia 267 18.1 +174%
Alaska 193 16.2 +146%
Wyoming 93 16.1 +144%
North Dakota 235 13.8 +109%
Rhode Island 221 13.6 +106%
Montana 235 13.3 +102%
Minnesota 1,612 13.1 +99%
South Dakota 234 12.6 +91%
Wisconsin 1,466 12.4 +88%
Nebraska 532 12.2 +86%
Massachusetts 1,669 12.1 +84%
Oregon 887 11.7 +77%
Kansas 801 11.7 +77%
Connecticut 787 11.6 +76%
Idaho 462 11.3 +71%
Colorado 1,443 11.2 +70%
Iowa 766 11.1 +69%
Missouri 1,522 11.0 +67%
Delaware 164 10.8 +64%
Washington 1,766 10.8 +64%
Hawaii 165 10.6 +61%
Michigan 2,157 10.5 +60%
Ohio 2,694 10.2 +54%
Indiana 1,615 10.1 +53%
Utah 917 9.61 +46%
Illinois 2,444 9.56 +45%
Virginia 1,726 9.10 +38%
Pennsylvania 2,362 8.90 +35%
Oklahoma 727 8.22 +25%
Maryland 937 7.86 +19%
Kentucky 780 7.77 +18%
West Virginia 237 7.26 +10%
New York 3,133 7.24 +10%
Arizona 1,133 6.93 +5%
Tennessee 1,225 6.79 ≈ national
New Jersey 1,345 6.68 ≈ national
New Mexico 218 6.62 ≈ national
North Carolina 1,689 6.61 ≈ national
South Carolina 670 6.48 ≈ national
Nevada 357 6.26 -5%
Arkansas 380 6.00 -9%
California 5,036 5.51 -16%
Florida 2,526 5.33 -19%
Georgia 1,261 4.98 -24%
Louisiana 497 4.86 -26%
Alabama 483 4.42 -33%
Texas 3,788 4.30 -35%
Mississippi 144 2.53 -62%

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 Theodore

Theodore is a top-10 name for boys in the United States, ranked #4 in 2025 with 13,355 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 318,175 American babies have been named Theodore. Its peak came in 2025, when 13,362 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Theodore stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Theodore?

The median living Theodore is about 14 years old; half are between 4 and 59. An estimated 207 thousand people named Theodore are alive in the United States today.

median 14 020406080100

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

Theodore 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 7 #13,074 13,355 #4
2024 13 #8,393 12,069 #4
2023 11 #9,549 11,093 #7
2022 15 #7,603 10,824 #10
2021 8 #12,105 9,600 #10
2020 14 #7,925 8,638 #23
2019 7 #13,689 7,896 #36
2018 – – 7,088 #44
2017 – – 5,973 #61
2016 7 #14,209 4,910 #83
2015 – – 4,155 #99
2014 – – 3,228 #126
2013 – – 2,429 #167
2012 5 #19,300 1,945 #194
2011 – – 1,573 #230
2010 – – 1,333 #259
2009 – – 1,239 #276
2008 – – 1,139 #294
2007 – – 1,137 #301
2006 – – 1,133 #295
2005 – – 1,095 #299
2004 – – 1,005 #313
2003 – – 964 #309
2002 – – 975 #300
2001 – – 935 #306
2000 – – 934 #312
1995 – – 956 #284
1990 – – 1,231 #233
1985 16 #4,842 1,211 #201
1980 6 #10,288 1,194 #206
1975 5 #10,475 1,197 #189
1970 8 #6,321 1,829 #160
1965 7 #5,763 2,140 #143
1960 11 #4,153 2,382 #149
1955 7 #5,158 2,976 #120
1950 8 #4,285 2,960 #99
1945 6 #4,508 2,347 #101
1940 7 #3,832 2,306 #90
1935 6 #4,159 2,433 #79
1930 20 #1,864 2,958 #67
1925 15 #2,474 3,226 #63
1920 16 #2,350 3,219 #63
1915 7 #3,760 2,504 #64
1910 8 #1,914 692 #54
1905 – – 834 #33
1900 – – 429 #61
1895 – – 208 #93
1890 – – 190 #89
1885 – – 199 #84
1880 – – 232 #70

Famous people named Theodore

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

  1. 1 Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt President of the United States from 1901 to 1909 1858–1919 · 19th century
  2. 2 Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Military personnel, United States 1887–1944 · 19th century
  3. 3 Theodore Bikel Theodore Bikel Austrian-American actor and folk musician (1924–2015) Contemporary
  4. 4 Theodore Dreiser Theodore Dreiser American novelist and journalist (1871–1945) 19th century
  5. 5 Theodore von Kármán Theodore von Kármán Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist (1881–1963) 19th century
  6. 6 Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon American speculative fiction writer (1918–1985) Contemporary
  7. 7 Theodore Maiman Theodore Maiman American physicist (1927–2007) Contemporary
  8. 8 Theodore I Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris First Emperor of Nicaea (1205–1221) 1174–1221 · Medieval
  9. 9 Theodore of Mopsuestia Theodore of Mopsuestia 4/5th-century Eastern Christian theologian; Archbishop of Mopsuestia 350–428 · Antiquity
  10. 10 Theodore Beza Theodore Beza French Calvinist theologian, reformer and scholar (1519–1605) 16th century
  11. 11 Theodore of Tarsus Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690, Christian saint 602–690 · Medieval
  12. 12 Theodore II Laskaris Theodore II Laskaris Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258 1221–1258 · Medieval
  13. 13 Theodore Komnenos Doukas Theodore Komnenos Doukas 13th-century AD emperor and autocrat of the Romans 1180–1253 · Medieval
  14. 14 Theodore the Studite Theodore the Studite Byzantine monk, abbot, and scholar 759–826 · Medieval
  15. 15 Theodore Stratelates Theodore Stratelates Christian martyr and saint (281–319) Antiquity
  16. 16 Theodore Edgar McCarrick Theodore Edgar McCarrick American Catholic prelate (1930–2025) Contemporary
  17. 17 Theodore II Palaiologos Theodore II Palaiologos Despotes 1396–1448 · Medieval
  18. 18 Theodore Schultz Theodore Schultz American economist and Nobel Laureate (1902–1998) Contemporary
  19. 19 Theodore Metochites Theodore Metochites Byzantine Greek statesman, author and philosopher 1270–1332 · Medieval
  20. 20 Theodore of Corsica Theodore of Corsica King of Corsica 1694–1756 · 17th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Theodore?

The median living Theodore is about 14 years old. Half of all living Theodores are between 4 and 59 years old.

How many people named Theodore are alive today?

An estimated 207 thousand people named Theodore are alive in the United States, based on 318,175 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Theodore mean?

Learned borrowing from Latin Theodōrus, borrowed from Ancient Greek Θεόδωρος (Theódōros), from θεός (theós, “god”) + δῶρον (dôron, “gift”).

How popular is the name Theodore in 2025?

Theodore ranked #4 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 13,355 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Theodore?

318,175 babies have been named Theodore in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Theodore most popular?

Theodore peaked in 2025, when 13,362 newborns received the name.

Is Theodore a boy or girl name?

Theodore is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Theodore rising or falling?

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

Will Theodore become more popular?

Theodore is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 18,091 boys named Theodore in 2030, which would rank around #3. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Theodore?

Well-known people named Theodore include Theodore Roosevelt (politician), Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (military personnel), Theodore Bikel (actor).

Names like Theodore

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

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