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.

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

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 (prefect of Egypt) (fl. c. 640), 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

Fictional characters

 * Theodore Seville, character from Alvin and the Chipmunks
 * Theodore "The Roach" Roachmont, character from Supernoobs