Greek theos and doron, "gift of God" — gift of god. Theodore Roosevelt lent his nickname to the teddy bear in 1902.
Theodore ranks 4th among American boys in 2025, with 13,362 born that year. Its best year was 2025, when 13,362 babies were given the name, ranking 4th. The typical living American called Theodore is about 21 years old today. It is relatively most common in Vermont, where it accounts for 1.56% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.