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Theodore (given name)

Theodore is a masculine given name. It comes from the Ancient Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theódoros), meaning "gift of God(s)" (from the Ancient Greek words θεός, (theós) "God/Gods" and δῶρον (dṓron) "gift". The name was borne by several figures in ancient Greece, such as Theodorus of Samos and Theodorus of Byzantium, but gained popularity due to the rise of Christendom.

In any form, it means "God(s)-given", or "gift of God/Gods", as do the given names Jonathan, Nathaniel, Matthew, Ataullah, Devadatta, Dosetai, Bogdan, and Adeodatus.

The name has risen in popularity across the Anglosphere in recent years. Theodore was among the five most popular names for White newborn boys in the American state of Virginia in 2022. It was among the ten most popular names for newborn boys nationally in the United States in 2021. The feminine form of Theodore is Theodora. The names Dorothy and Godiva also mean "gift of God(s)". In German, Theodore is the feminine form and the masculine form is Theodor.

Although similar to, and probably influenced by it, the Germanic name Theodoric (and variants Theodoricus, Dietrich, Thierry, and others) has a separate origin. It's also similar to Doris, another Greek origin given name.

Variants

Diminutives

Hypocorisms, calling names, or nicknames derived from Theodore can be:

People named Theodore

Ancient world

Ordered chronologically

Theodore Tiron (died 306), Byzantine martyr and Warrior Saint
Theodore Stratelates (died 319), Byzantine martyr and Warrior Saint
Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 – 428), Byzantine bishop
Theodore of Enaton, 5th-century Syrian Christian monk
Theodore of Pherme, 4th-century Egyptian Christian monk
Theodore of Tarsus (602–690), Archbishop of Canterbury
Theodore (brother of Heraclius) (fl. c. 610–636), Byzantine general
Theodore Trithyrius (died 636), Byzantine treasurer and military commander
Pope Theodore I, Pope from 642 to 649
Theodore I Calliopas, Exarch of Ravenna (643 – c. 645 and 653 – before 666)
Theodore Abu Qurrah (c. 750 – c. 823), Christian Arab theologian
Theodore the Studite (759–826), Byzantine Greek monk and abbot
Pope Theodore II (840–897), Pope in 897
Theodore Prodromos (c. 1100 – c. 1165), Byzantine writer and poet
Theodore I Laskaris (c. 1174 – c. 1222), first Emperor of Nicaea
Theodore Komnenos Doukas (died c. 1253), Emperor of Thessalonica
Theodore II Laskaris (c. 1222 – 1258), Emperor of Nicaea
Theodore Metochites (1270–1332), Byzantine statesman, author and philosopher
Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria, Tsar of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322
Theodore I Palaiologos (c. 1355 – 1407), Byzantine despot
Theodore II Palaiologos (c. 1396 – 1448), Byzantine despot

Modern world

Ordered by last name, where available; otherwise chronologically

Theodore I of Corsica (1694–1756), German adventurer who was briefly King of Corsica
Pope Theodoros II of Alexandria (born 1952), leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria (born 1954), Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa
Theodore Bent (1852-1897), British archaeologist and explorer in the Levant, Africa, and Southern Arabia
Theodore Beza (1519–1605), French Protestant theologian and scholar
Theodore Bibliander (1509–1564), Swiss Orientalist, publisher and linguist
Theodore Bikel (1924–2015), Austrian-American actor, folksinger, composer and unionist
Teddy Bridgewater (born 1992), American football player
Theodore Bruback (1851–1904), American businessman
Theodore Bundy (1946-1989), prolific American serial killer, rapist, kidnapper, and necrophile
Theodore Cantor (1809–1860), Danish physician, zoologist and botanist
Theodore Conrad (1910–1994), American architect, preservationist and a leading architectural model maker
Theodore John Conrad (1949–2021), American fugitive
Theodore Debs (1864-1945), American politician
Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945), American novelist
Theodore Freeman (1930–1964), American aeronautical engineer, test pilot and NASA astronaut
Theodore Frelinghuysen (1787–1862), American politician
Theodore Fyfe (1875–1945), Scottish architect
Théodore Géricault (1791-1824), French Romantic painter
Theodore Gill (1837–1914), American zoologist and librarian
Theodore Hall (1925–1999), American physicist and atomic spy for the Soviet Union
Theodore Kaczynski (1942-2023), American letter bomber
Theodore von Kármán (1881–1963), Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist
Theodore Katsanevas (1947–2021), Greek academic and politician
Theodoros Kolokotronis (1770-1843), Greek General and pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829) against the Ottoman Empire.
Theodore Levitt (1925–2006), American economist
Theodore Long (born 1947), American professional wrestling personality
Theodore Lyman (1874–1954), American physicist and spectroscopist
Theodore Maiman (1927–2007), American engineer and physicist, inventor of the laser
Theodore Edgar McCarrick (born 1930), American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
Ted Nugent (born 1948), American rock musician and gun advocate
Theodore Odza (1915–1998), American visual artist
Theodore Braybrooke Panabokke (1909-1989), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician, lawyer, and diplomat
Theodore Parker (1810–1860), American Transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church
Theodore Duncan Perera, Sri Lankan Sinhala civil servant
Theodore William Richards (1868–1928), American physical chemist
Theodore Roberts (1861–1928), American film and stage actor
Theodore Robinson (1852–1896), American Impressionist painter
Theodore Roethke (1908–1963), American poet
Theodore Romzha (1911–1947), Ukrainian Ruthenian Catholic bishop
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th President of the United States
Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (1831-1878), American businessman and philanthropist
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1887–1944), American government, business and military leader
Theodore Roosevelt III (1914-2001), American banker
Theodore Roosevelt IV or Theodore Roosevelt V (born 1945), American investment banker
Theodore Roszak (scholar) (1933–2011), American historian, sociologist and novelist
Ted Sampley (1946–2009), American POW/MIA activist
Theodore Schultz (1902–1998), American economist
Theodore Shapiro (born 1971), American film composer
Theodore Sorensen (1928–2010), American lawyer, writer, and presidential adviser
Theodore Sougiannis, American economist
Ted Stevens, American former Senator from Alaska
Theodore K. Stubbs (1847–1911), American politician from Pennsylvania
Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985), American science fiction author
Theodore Tannenwald Jr. (1916–1999), judge of the United States Tax Court
Theodore Thomas (conductor) (1835–1905), American violinist and conductor
Theodore Van Kirk (1921–2014), American navigator of the Enola Gay
Ted Williams (1918–2002), American baseball player
Teddy Wilson (1912–1986), American jazz pianist
Theodore H. Winters Jr. (1913–2008), American flying ace during World War II
Guy Theodore Sebastian, Malaysian-Australian singer
Theodore Taylor (1921-2006), American writer
Tewodros II Ge'ez (ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ) (1818–1868), Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868