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SHARED SPELLING

✦ Two distinct US naming histories

Theodore

Used in both girl and boy records

Theodore appears in both girl and boy US naming records. Compare the two independent popularity histories, ranks, and peak years.

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Theodore by gender

Each record below preserves the original rank, use count, active years, and peak year for that gender. The spelling is shared; the data histories are not combined.

GIRL RECORDTheodore as a girl’s nameUS records 1901–2024
#6578girl rank1929peak year
Read girl record ↗BOY RECORDTheodore as a boy’s nameUS records 1880–2024
#126boy rank2024peak year
Read boy record ↗

Popularity ledger

Girl and boy use over time

GirlBoy

Trace the annual recorded uses of Theodore in the national name files. Hover a peak marker, move across the chart, or use the arrow keys to inspect an exact annual count and rank.

At a glance

RecordPeak yearHighest rankObserved usage
Girl192930 uses#139319291901–202087 listed years
Boy20208,558 uses#2320201880–2020141 listed years

Annual counts and within-year ranks from the SSA national-name archive, 1880–2020. Names with fewer than five births in a year are not listed in the source files.

Origin of the spelling

Origin & meaning

OriginAncient Greek
MeaningFrom Greek Theodoros, conventionally translated as “gift of god.”

Theodore comes from the Greek Theodoros, formed from elements glossed as “god” and “gift.” The related name Dorothea uses the same elements in reverse order.

The name was used in classical Greece and spread through Christian communities through saints and religious figures who bore it.

Related forms

TheodorosTheodorTheo

Reviewed 2026-08-15 · Sources