Theodore
Meaning of Theodore
Theodore sweeps onto the modern nursery roster like a gondola gliding under a Venetian moon, carrying with it centuries of history and a dash of old-world charm. Born from the Greek “Theódoros,” meaning “gift of God,” the name has long been a jewel in both church liturgy and royal ledgers, yet it wears surprisingly well with sneakers and finger paints. Picture little Theo toddling through a sun-dappled piazza: he nods to St. Theodore, the dragon-slaying patron of Venice, exchanges a wink with President Teddy Roosevelt—whose nickname inspired the cuddly bear—and tips his cap to literary luminaries from Dostoevsky to Dr. Seuss. In the United States, Theodore has climbed the popularity charts like a daring alpinist, vaulting from the high 200s at the turn of the millennium to an impressive fourth place in 2024—a testament to its timeless melody and versatile charm. Pronounced THEE-uh-dor, the name rolls off the tongue as smoothly as a sip of Amarone, lacing classic elegance with approachable warmth. With such rich roots and a resume of cultural cameos, Theodore offers parents a name that feels both venerable and vivace, as ready for a boardroom as it is for a backyard game of calcio.
Pronunciation
British English
- Pronunced as THEE-uh-dawr (/ˈθiədɔr/)
American English
- Pronunced as THEE-uh-dor (/ˈθiədɔr/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Theodore
| Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th US president from 1901 to 1909, rose from New York governor and briefly vice president to lead the Republican Party and champion Progressive Era antitrust reforms. |
| Theodore Roosevelt Jr., eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt, was an American soldier, politician, and businessman who led troops at Utah Beach in World War II and received the Medal of Honor. |
| Theodore Parker was an American transcendentalist, Unitarian minister, and abolitionist whose words later inspired Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. |
| Theodore Sturgeon was an American author and critic of fantasy, science fiction, and horror who wrote over 120 short stories, 11 novels, about 400 reviews, and scripts for Star Trek The Original Series. |
| Theodore Thomas was a pioneering German American violinist and the first renowned American orchestral conductor who founded and led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. |
| Theodore Huebner Roethke was an acclaimed American poet whose lyrical nature rich verse won the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for The Waking and two National Book Awards for Words for the Wind and The Far Field. |
| Theodore Francis Green was a Rhode Island Democrat who served as governor, then as US senator from 1937 to 1961, chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, championed Wilsonian internationalism, and retired at 93 as the oldest senator at the time. |
| Theodore Mallory Stuart Jr was an American college football player for Michigan in 1904 and 1905 who later coached Colorado School of Mines and practiced law, serving as assistant attorney general of Colorado. |
| Theodore Strong was an American lawyer and politician. |
| Theodore Wood Friend III was an American historian, novelist, and teacher who served as president of Swarthmore College. |
| Theodore Mangaphas was a Greek noble from Philadelphia who twice claimed the Byzantine throne, first under Isaac II Angelos and again after the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople. |
| Theodore Ziolkowski was a scholar of German studies and comparative literature who coined the term fifth gospel genre. |
| Theodore Bestor - Theodore C. Bestor was a Harvard anthropologist and Japanese studies scholar who served as president of the Association for Asian Studies in 2012 and resigned as Reischauer Institute director in 2018 after a Harvard University investigation found he committed two counts of sexual misconduct. |
