Popularity of the name Theodore, 1880–2025
Theodore has never been more popular than it is now: in 2025, 13,355 boys were named Theodore, about 1 in 130 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #4. In all, Social Security counts 317,206 boys named Theodore since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 969 girls named Theodore.
- Peak year
- 2025
- Rank in 2025
- #4
- Babies in 2025
- 13,355
- Total since 1880
- 317,206
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has climbed from #99 in 2015 to #4 in 2025, with 4,155 boys named Theodore in 2015 and 13,355 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Theodore ranked highest in the 2020s so far, at #9, with 65,579 boys given the name that decade. It started at #79 in the 1880s.
Every 20 years in the records: 232 in 1880 (#70), 429 in 1900 (#61), 3,219 in 1920 (#63), 2,306 in 1940 (#90), 2,382 in 1960 (#149), 1,194 in 1980 (#206), 934 in 2000 (#312) and 8,638 in 2020 (#23).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 13,355, in 2025. Its best rank in any year was #4, first reached in 2024.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Theodore, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 232 | #70 |
| 1881 | 178 | #78 |
| 1882 | 232 | #75 |
| 1883 | 185 | #81 |
| 1884 | 211 | #81 |
| 1885 | 199 | #83 |
| 1886 | 258 | #69 |
| 1887 | 201 | #82 |
| 1888 | 249 | #80 |
| 1889 | 231 | #75 |
| 1890 | 190 | #89 |
| 1891 | 224 | #76 |
| 1892 | 239 | #82 |
| 1893 | 209 | #90 |
| 1894 | 241 | #81 |
| 1895 | 208 | #93 |
| 1896 | 241 | #82 |
| 1897 | 215 | #85 |
| 1898 | 281 | #75 |
| 1899 | 252 | #78 |
| 1900 | 429 | #61 |
| 1901 | 450 | #43 |
| 1902 | 642 | #34 |
| 1903 | 663 | #36 |
| 1904 | 834 | #30 |
| 1905 | 834 | #33 |
| 1906 | 688 | #38 |
| 1907 | 712 | #38 |
| 1908 | 643 | #47 |
| 1909 | 595 | #51 |
| 1910 | 692 | #53 |
| 1911 | 753 | #56 |
| 1912 | 1,561 | #52 |
| 1913 | 1,650 | #60 |
| 1914 | 1,929 | #64 |
| 1915 | 2,504 | #64 |
| 1916 | 2,641 | #65 |
| 1917 | 2,809 | #63 |
| 1918 | 3,143 | #64 |
| 1919 | 3,424 | #54 |
| 1920 | 3,219 | #63 |
| 1921 | 3,172 | #65 |
| 1922 | 3,216 | #62 |
| 1923 | 3,157 | #62 |
| 1924 | 3,225 | #65 |
| 1925 | 3,226 | #63 |
| 1926 | 3,129 | #63 |
| 1927 | 3,124 | #62 |
| 1928 | 2,916 | #66 |
| 1929 | 2,903 | #65 |
| 1930 | 2,958 | #67 |
| 1931 | 2,666 | #70 |
| 1932 | 2,674 | #67 |
| 1933 | 2,611 | #68 |
| 1934 | 2,523 | #74 |
| 1935 | 2,433 | #79 |
| 1936 | 2,219 | #87 |
| 1937 | 2,317 | #86 |
| 1938 | 2,360 | #84 |
| 1939 | 2,196 | #90 |
| 1940 | 2,306 | #90 |
| 1941 | 2,330 | #95 |
| 1942 | 2,665 | #91 |
| 1943 | 2,616 | #96 |
| 1944 | 2,574 | #96 |
| 1945 | 2,347 | #101 |
| 1946 | 2,612 | #101 |
| 1947 | 2,928 | #102 |
| 1948 | 2,830 | #104 |
| 1949 | 3,041 | #100 |
| 1950 | 2,960 | #99 |
| 1951 | 3,216 | #99 |
| 1952 | 3,270 | #100 |
| 1953 | 2,937 | #112 |
| 1954 | 3,074 | #115 |
| 1955 | 2,976 | #120 |
| 1956 | 2,955 | #119 |
| 1957 | 2,760 | #132 |
| 1958 | 2,503 | #140 |
| 1959 | 2,399 | #146 |
| 1960 | 2,382 | #149 |
| 1961 | 2,303 | #151 |
| 1962 | 2,316 | #146 |
| 1963 | 2,387 | #142 |
| 1964 | 2,169 | #152 |
| 1965 | 2,140 | #143 |
| 1966 | 1,905 | #149 |
| 1967 | 1,854 | #149 |
| 1968 | 1,887 | #149 |
| 1969 | 1,945 | #153 |
| 1970 | 1,829 | #160 |
| 1971 | 1,664 | #166 |
| 1972 | 1,419 | #175 |
| 1973 | 1,342 | #175 |
| 1974 | 1,269 | #180 |
| 1975 | 1,197 | #189 |
| 1976 | 1,174 | #189 |
| 1977 | 1,223 | #194 |
| 1978 | 1,212 | #195 |
| 1979 | 1,238 | #198 |
| 1980 | 1,194 | #206 |
| 1981 | 1,133 | #218 |
| 1982 | 1,189 | #207 |
| 1983 | 1,156 | #206 |
| 1984 | 1,069 | #213 |
| 1985 | 1,211 | #200 |
| 1986 | 1,256 | #200 |
| 1987 | 1,218 | #206 |
| 1988 | 1,239 | #211 |
| 1989 | 1,293 | #216 |
| 1990 | 1,231 | #233 |
| 1991 | 1,098 | #251 |
| 1992 | 1,093 | #259 |
| 1993 | 1,036 | #277 |
| 1994 | 941 | #291 |
| 1995 | 956 | #284 |
| 1996 | 905 | #294 |
| 1997 | 956 | #291 |
| 1998 | 984 | #289 |
| 1999 | 913 | #314 |
| 2000 | 934 | #312 |
| 2001 | 935 | #306 |
| 2002 | 975 | #300 |
| 2003 | 964 | #309 |
| 2004 | 1,005 | #313 |
| 2005 | 1,095 | #299 |
| 2006 | 1,133 | #295 |
| 2007 | 1,137 | #300 |
| 2008 | 1,139 | #293 |
| 2009 | 1,239 | #276 |
| 2010 | 1,333 | #257 |
| 2011 | 1,573 | #230 |
| 2012 | 1,945 | #194 |
| 2013 | 2,429 | #167 |
| 2014 | 3,228 | #126 |
| 2015 | 4,155 | #99 |
| 2016 | 4,910 | #83 |
| 2017 | 5,973 | #61 |
| 2018 | 7,088 | #44 |
| 2019 | 7,896 | #36 |
| 2020 | 8,638 | #23 |
| 2021 | 9,600 | #10 |
| 2022 | 10,824 | #10 |
| 2023 | 11,093 | #7 |
| 2024 | 12,069 | #4 |
| 2025 | 13,355 | #4 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.