Theodore

Théodore comes from the Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), meaning “gift of god,” from θεός (theos), “god,” and δῶρον (doron), “gift”; Dorothea is formed from the same roots in reverse order. The name was borne by several saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk, as well as by two popes. Common in classical Greece and later widely adopted in the Christian world, especially among Eastern Christians, it remained rare in Britain before the 19th century. Notable bearers include three tsars of Russia, in the Russian form Fyodor, and U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919).

Theodore has made a dramatic comeback. After first appearing in the US records in 1880, it fell to #314 by 1999, before climbing to #4 in 2025. That year also produced its highest recorded birth count, at 13,355.