Name of the Week

A quirky biblical name with a strong artistic streak.
A great choice for those looking for a rare,
yet recognisable name with history.

 

Origin:

Thaddeus is an Anglicised form of the Hellenised Biblical name Θαδδαίος (Thaddaios), which became Thaddaeus is Latin. All signs point to Thaddaios being a Hellenised form of the Aramaic Thaddai, the meaning of which is uncertain.  The most famous Thaddeus is St Jude Thaddeus, one of the Twelve Apostles. He is known by many names, including Jude of James, Judas Thaddaeus, Judas Lebbaeus and even Thaddaeus Lebbaeus.  A longstanding theory is that Thaddaeus and Lebbaeus are interpretations, variant readings, or cognates, of the same name. Lebbaeus looks likely to come from the Hebrew leb "heart"; some have reconstructed the Hebrew form of the name as Levaviy "my heart," or Levaviyah "heart of Yahweh."* Thaddaeus, meanwhile, has been derived from the Aramaic tad meaning "breast, chest," and has therefore been considered cognate.  For this reason, Thaddeus is often listed under a variety of related (if tenuous) meanings such as heart, braveheart, courageous, dear heart or beloved. Scholars are divided over this theory, however.* It is worth noting that the Aramaic word for "heart" is leb, just like the Hebrew, so using tad instead as a 'translation' seems curious.  The other most prominent scholarly theory is that Thaddai/Taddai is the Aramaic form of a Greek name such as Theodoros, Theodotos and Theodosios (all derived from the Greek theos "God" and doros "gift, that which is given"). Thaddai was then translated back into Greek as Thaddaios. Richard Bauckham points out that Theodoros, Theodotus and Theodosios were quite common names for contemporary Jews, and it is not unusual to find examples of Palestinian Jews bearing both Semitic and Greek names.* There is, then, plenty of precedent for Aramaic -Greek cross overs. One other possibility is that Thaddai derives from the Aramaic tawdi meaning "praise, thanks."

Usage:

The Italian form, Taddeo, was not an uncommon name in medieval Italy. In the Catasto of Florence in 1427, 33 Taddeos are listed, putting it at a rank of #40. Notable bearers include Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1300–1366) and Taddeo di Bartolo (c. 1363–1422), both renowned painters during the Renaissance, and later Taddeo Zuccari (1529–1566), also an artist.  Lingual variations of Thaddeus can be found across Europe from the 14th century.  The Polish form, Tadeusz, has historically been well used in Poland. One famous bearer is Tadeusz (Thaddeus) Kościuszko (1746–1817), a national hero of Poland and major general in the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the American War of Independence.  Pan Tadeusz ("Sir Thaddeus" in English) is an epic poem by Adam Mickiewicz, first published in 1834, that is considered one of Poland's finest literary works. Thaddeus has been in use in Britain since the 16th century, though has always been uncommon. It was used most in Ireland as an 'Anglicised' form the Irish name Tadgh (meaning "poet").  Registration of births in England and Wales show that Thaddeus was uncommon but in consistent use in the 19th century: 1840s: 13 births 1850s: 11 births 1860s: 15 births 1870s: 10 births 1880s: 20 births 1890s: 17 births 1900s: 13 births 1910s: 13 births 1920s: 7 births 1930s: 2 births 1940s: 5 births 1950s: 5 births 1960s: 9 births 1970s: 11 births click to enlarge Since 1996, Thaddeus has ranked (with 3 births or more) in England and Wales twelve times in eighteen years. It peaked in 2005 at #1991 with 5 births.  Having not ranked for the previous four years, Thaddeus ranked #3315 with 5 births in 2013.  The Polish form, Tadeusz first ranked in 2005. Up until 2011, it was given to no more than 3 boys per year, but since then has been rising. In 2013, Tadeusz ranked #1706 with 13 births in England and Wales, reflecting its rising popularity in native Poland where it currently ranks #77. In Scotland, Thaddeus has only ranked four times from 1974-2014 (1994, 2000, 2004 and 2009), given to only one boy in each year.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Jude Thaddaeus (d.c.65), one of the Twelve Apostles.  * Saint Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the seventy disciples of Christ. * Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1300–1366), an Italian Renaissance painter. * Taddeo di Bartolo (c. 1363–1422), an Italian Renaissance painter. * Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy (1455-1497), Bishop of Ross and Bishop of Cork and Cloyne.  * Taddeo Zuccari (1529–1566), an Italian painter. * Tadeusz (Thaddeus) Kościuszko (1746–1817), a Polish and American Revolutionary General and national hero. * Tadeusz Romer (1894-1978), a Polish diplomat and politician. * Thaddeus S. C. Lowe (1831–1913), American scientist and inventor. * Thaddeus Cahill (1867–1934), an American inventor and inventor of the first electromechanical musical instrument. * Thad Jones (1923–1986), an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Contemporary: * Thaddeus O'Sullivan (b.1947), Irish director and screenwriter.  * Thaddeus Young (b.1988), American basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Literature and Other Media: * Thaddeus "Thad" Peabody, a character in J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter series.

Variants:

Thaddée (French), Tadeo (Spanish), Taddeo (Italian), Tadeusz (Polish), Tadeu (Portuguese), Faddei, Faddey (Russian), Tadeáš (Slovak), Tadej (Slovene), Tadeáš (Czech), Tadija (Croatian)

Pronunciation:

THAD-ee-əs [key]

Possible diminutives:

Thad, Thaddy, Thady, Tad, Teddy

Sibling Names:

Juliana     Aurelia     Sabina     Helena     Amalia     Clarissa  Matthias     Quentin    Nathanael    Simeon     Casimir    Raphael

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Saintly and Stylish   Operatic Appellations   Harry Potter Names

 

If you like Thaddeus you may also like:    Theodore, Ignatius, Atticus, Barnabas, Magnus, Laszlo, Tobias, Lazarus, Finnian, Erasmus

 

Thanks to Rosamund for requesting this post.