Name of the Week

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Theodore is a name of tailored refinement,
with everyman Theo and adorable Teddy built in as nicknames.
No wonder it's on the rise.

 

Origin:

Theodore is the Anglicised form of the Ancient Greek name Theodoros (Θεόδωρος), composed of the elements theos "a god" and doron "gift"

Usage:

Theodoros was a well used name in the Classical and Hellenistic periods of Ancient Greece and can be found in a variety of variant forms such as Thedoros, Theodouros, Theudoros, Thiodoros and Thiodouros. The LGPN ranks it at #4 in the Aegean islands and Cyprus, #9 in Attica, #10 in The Peloponnese, Western Greece and Magna Graecia, #11 in Central Greece and #15 in Macedonia, and it was born by several notable ancient Greeks including the 6th century BC inventor Theodorus of Samos, and 5th century mathmatician Theodorus of Cyrene.   The meaning of the name was cleverly reinterpreted by the early Christians of the Byzantine Empire, from the Pagan "gift of the god(s)" to Christinised "gift of God." It, and the feminine form Theodora, therefore continued to flourish and was used by many early saints, bishops and even popes.  It's prevalent use among early saints and popes of the Eastern Christian Empire meant it was continued through the Eastern Orthodox Church and later Russian Empire quite popularly for centuries, with three Russian Tsars using the name and several religious figures.  It was, however, little used in Britain until the 16th century when it garnered some moderate use in pockets of the country, particularly London which had high influence from immigration.  One boost to the name came in 1768 with Horace Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto, considered to be the first 'Gothic' novel -- a genre that would become massively popular and influential. Theodore was also supported by the Tractarian Movement (1833-1845) which promoted the names of early saints.  Thus, by the mid-19th century, Theodore had been established as a fashionable choice, ranking #148 in 1870, #149 in 1880, #150 in 1890 and #175 in 1900 in England and Wales. Theo was coined as a nickname, as well as Teddy which was already in common used for popular Edward.  Over the course of the 20th century, the name went into decline, as birth records for England and Wales show: 1890: 135 births 1900: 104 births 1910: 123 births 1920: 82 births  1930: 56 births 1940: 17 births 1950: 16 births 1960: 18 births 1970: 19 births click to enlarge Since 1996 however, Theodore has been on a steady upward curve in England and Wales, from its rank of #209 (152 births) in 1996, to #158 (292 births) in 2005, to breaking into the top 100 for the first time ever at #97 (655 births) in 2012. Diminutives Teddy and Theo have also been on a similar upward curve. All three names were listed in Upswing Boys' Names of 2012, and as of 2013, all were in the top 100: Theo #41, Theodore #78 and Teddy #86.  In both Scotland and Northern Ireland, Theodore has remained below the top 200 in recent years, ranking #280 and #343 in 2013 respectively.

Famous Bearers:

History: * 13 Saints and 1 Blessed including:   - St. Theodore of Tarsus (602-690), archbishop of Canterbury.   - St. Theodore the Studite (759-826), monastic reformer, opponent of iconoclasm, and hymnographer. * Theodorus of Samos (6th-century BC), inventor and architect. * Theodorus of Cyrene (5th-century BC), mathematician. * Theodorus the Atheist (c. 300 BC), philosopher of the Cyrenaic school. * Theodore of Mopsuestia (c.350–428), Syrian Christian theologian and bishop of Mopsuestia. * Theodorus I of Milan, bishop of Milan (475-490) * Patriarch Theodore I of Alexandria, Greek Patriarch of Alexandria (607-609) * Pope Theodore I (642-649). * Pope Theodore II (897) * Theodore (Tewodros) I, Emperor of Ethiopia (1413–1414). * Tsar Feodor I (1557-1598) Tsar of Russia. * Tsar Feodor II (1589-1605), Tsar of Russia. * Tsar Feodor III (1661-1682), Tsar of Russia. * Théodore Géricault (1791-1824), influential French artist. * Fyodor Tyutchev (1803-1873), Russian poet. * Theodore Parker (1810–1860), American theologian and social reformer. * Sir Theodore Martin (1816-1909), Scottish poet * Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903). German historian who win the 1902 Nobel Prize in Literature. * Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881), Russian novelist. * Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th President of the United States. * Theodor Seuss Geisel "Dr. Seuss" (1904-1991), American author * Theodore "Teddy" Wilson (1912–1986), American jazz pianist. Contemporary: * Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria (b.1954), current Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa. * Theodore Raymond "T. R." Knight (b.1973), American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Theodore, the hero in Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764) * Theodore Seville, one of the brothers in "Alvin & the Chipmunks" * Theodore "Teddy/Laurie" Laurence, a character in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1868). * Theodore "Theo" Nott, character from the "Harry Potter" series. * Theodore "Ted" Logan, a character in the Bill and Ted movie franchise. * Theodore "Theo" Huxtable, character on the television series The Cosby Show. * Theodore "Ted" Mosely, character on the television series How I Met Your Mother.

Variants:

Theodoros (Ancient Greek), Theodorus (Latin), Theodor (German, Scandinavian), Teodor (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Macedonian), Feodor, Fyodor (Russian), Tivadar (Hungarian), Teuvo (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

THEE-ə-dor [key]

Possible diminutives:

Theo, Teddy, Ted, Thor, Otto, Todd, Odo, Doro

Sibling Names:

Jemima     Felicity     Elodie     Beatrice     Annabelle     Violet       Dominic     Gabriel     Felix     Sebastian     Frederick    Jasper

Name Lists:

Vintage Names   Victorian Darlings   Names from the Brontes

 

If you like Theodore you may also like:   Edmund, Benedict, Maxwell, Phineas, Lucas, Edward, Thaddeus, Nathaniel, Tristan, Rupert

 

Thanks to Melinda for requesting this post.