Theodor
Theodor was given to 76 boys in 2025, #2,004 among boys’ names; 2,216 Americans have been recorded with it since 1884 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,680 Americans named Theodor and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (76% of everyone recorded); the median is 13 years old and half are between 6 and 36.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Theodor by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Theodor mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Theodor is “a male given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek], variant of Theodore.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Theodor?
#2,004 among boys’ names, 2025
Theodor rose from #2,407 in 2015 to #2,004 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 28.2 to 44.5 per million.
88 babies in 2022, the peak
Theodor peaked in 2022, when 88 boys were given it, #1,836 among boys’ names. The 76 births of 2025 are 86% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 76 | #2,004 | 44.5 |
| 2024 | 71 | #2,115 | 41.2 |
| 2023 | 86 | #1,864 | 50.3 |
| 2022 | 88 | #1,836 | 50.4 |
| 2021 | 70 | #2,093 | 40.0 |
| 2020 | 79 | #1,892 | 45.8 |
| 2019 | 85 | #1,814 | 47.4 |
| 2018 | 65 | #2,163 | 35.8 |
| 2017 | 54 | #2,413 | 29.2 |
| 2016 | 62 | #2,203 | 32.7 |
Every recorded year (113)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 54 | #2,407 | 28.2 |
| 2014 | 56 | #2,340 | 29.2 |
| 2013 | 45 | #2,662 | 23.8 |
| 2012 | 20 | #4,838 | 10.5 |
| 2011 | 25 | #4,093 | 13.2 |
| 2010 | 26 | #3,981 | 13.6 |
| 2009 | 21 | #4,726 | 10.6 |
| 2008 | 20 | #4,874 | 9.8 |
| 2007 | 21 | #4,621 | 10.1 |
| 2006 | 16 | #5,494 | 7.8 |
| 2005 | 22 | #4,173 | 11.0 |
| 2004 | 18 | #4,770 | 9.1 |
| 2003 | 12 | #6,206 | 6.1 |
| 2002 | 24 | #3,655 | 12.4 |
| 2001 | 16 | #4,862 | 8.2 |
| 2000 | 19 | #4,182 | 9.7 |
| 1999 | 16 | #4,510 | 8.3 |
| 1998 | 19 | #3,828 | 9.9 |
| 1997 | 6 | #9,145 | 3.2 |
| 1996 | 11 | #5,489 | 5.8 |
| 1995 | 16 | #4,025 | 8.4 |
| 1994 | 11 | #5,411 | 5.7 |
| 1993 | 11 | #5,316 | 5.6 |
| 1992 | 13 | #4,539 | 6.5 |
| 1991 | 12 | #4,727 | 5.9 |
| 1990 | 12 | #4,637 | 5.8 |
| 1989 | 16 | #3,595 | 8.0 |
| 1988 | 11 | #4,419 | 5.7 |
| 1987 | 14 | #3,486 | 7.5 |
| 1986 | 8 | #5,280 | 4.3 |
| 1985 | 11 | #4,021 | 6.0 |
| 1984 | 9 | #4,517 | 5.0 |
| 1983 | 7 | #5,430 | 3.9 |
| 1981 | 11 | #3,832 | 6.1 |
| 1980 | 11 | #3,820 | 6.2 |
| 1978 | 10 | #3,824 | 6.1 |
| 1977 | 9 | #4,132 | 5.5 |
| 1976 | 13 | #3,078 | 8.3 |
| 1974 | 9 | #3,810 | 5.7 |
| 1973 | 7 | #4,455 | 4.5 |
| 1972 | 8 | #3,928 | 4.9 |
| 1971 | 11 | #3,126 | 6.2 |
| 1970 | 12 | #2,875 | 6.5 |
| 1969 | 11 | #2,841 | 6.2 |
| 1968 | 17 | #2,026 | 9.8 |
| 1967 | 8 | #3,211 | 4.6 |
| 1966 | 11 | #2,610 | 6.2 |
| 1965 | 11 | #2,600 | 5.9 |
| 1964 | 11 | #2,648 | 5.5 |
| 1963 | 17 | #2,039 | 8.4 |
| 1962 | 8 | #3,282 | 3.9 |
| 1961 | 15 | #2,231 | 7.1 |
| 1960 | 15 | #2,198 | 7.0 |
| 1959 | 10 | #2,804 | 4.7 |
| 1958 | 16 | #2,084 | 7.5 |
| 1957 | 13 | #2,364 | 6.0 |
| 1956 | 21 | #1,758 | 9.9 |
| 1955 | 13 | #2,296 | 6.3 |
| 1954 | 12 | #2,429 | 5.9 |
| 1953 | 14 | #2,176 | 7.1 |
| 1952 | 14 | #2,145 | 7.2 |
| 1951 | 15 | #2,046 | 8.0 |
| 1950 | 11 | #2,426 | 6.1 |
| 1949 | 8 | #2,996 | 4.5 |
| 1948 | 10 | #2,601 | 5.7 |
| 1947 | 13 | #2,242 | 7.1 |
| 1946 | 18 | #1,750 | 11.1 |
| 1945 | 5 | #3,731 | 3.7 |
| 1944 | 14 | #1,975 | 10.3 |
| 1943 | 13 | #2,173 | 9.1 |
| 1942 | 11 | #2,375 | 8.0 |
| 1941 | 10 | #2,476 | 8.1 |
| 1940 | 11 | #2,308 | 9.5 |
| 1939 | 11 | #2,281 | 9.9 |
| 1938 | 12 | #2,172 | 10.8 |
| 1937 | 10 | #2,466 | 9.4 |
| 1936 | 12 | #2,169 | 11.6 |
| 1935 | 10 | #2,514 | 9.6 |
| 1934 | 12 | #2,251 | 11.6 |
| 1933 | 12 | #2,199 | 12.1 |
| 1932 | 20 | #1,645 | 19.2 |
| 1931 | 8 | #3,074 | 7.7 |
| 1930 | 13 | #2,282 | 11.8 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,309 | 12.1 |
| 1928 | 13 | #2,375 | 11.7 |
| 1927 | 19 | #1,864 | 16.9 |
| 1926 | 18 | #1,904 | 16.2 |
| 1925 | 16 | #2,077 | 14.3 |
| 1924 | 13 | #2,455 | 11.5 |
| 1923 | 9 | #3,149 | 8.2 |
| 1922 | 12 | #2,619 | 11.0 |
| 1921 | 15 | #2,254 | 13.6 |
| 1920 | 11 | #2,744 | 10.3 |
| 1919 | 12 | #2,498 | 12.2 |
| 1918 | 18 | #1,898 | 17.8 |
| 1917 | 23 | #1,524 | 24.9 |
| 1916 | 15 | #2,034 | 16.9 |
| 1915 | 15 | #1,958 | 17.7 |
| 1914 | 15 | #1,675 | 22.9 |
| 1913 | 12 | #1,667 | 23.4 |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,056 | 49.2 |
| 1887 | 5 | #1,055 | 49.3 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,108 | 43.7 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Theodor a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Theodor has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 113 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Theodor: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Theodor, and how old are they?
1,680 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 76% of the 2,216 Americans ever recorded as Theodor. The median Theodor alive today is 13 years old; half are between 6 and 36.
The 2020 Census counted 1,653 people named Theodor (6 women and girls, 1,647 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,302 born in the U.S. The Census count is 27% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Theodor rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 38 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 168 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 130 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 165 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 296 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 885 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Theodor born?
The states with the most babies named Theodor are California, New York and Texas, with 47% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 8 | #1,968 | 0.6× |
| New York | 5 | #2,017 | 0.5× |
| Texas | 5 | #2,915 | 0.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 5 | #1,418 | 0.2× |
| Florida | 5 | #2,068 | 0.1× |
| Massachusetts | 5 | #887 | 0.2× |
| Ohio | 5 | #1,451 | 0.1× |
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Theodor with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 2,302 babies since 1880, Theodor is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 76 of their 76 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Theodor
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Theodor and names like it
- Compare Theodor and TheadorBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sTheodor peaked in 2022.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Theodor since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Theodor: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2022The year the most babies were named Theodor.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Theodor alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with TMost given first.