Theodore (given name)

Theodore

Saint Theodore Tyro
Pronunciation	English: /ˈθiːədɔːr/
Gender	Male
Name day	9 November Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden Alternative dates 7 March: Bulgaria 12 May: Greece 23 October: Czech Republic
Origin
Word/name	Greek
Meaning	"God's Gift"
Other names
Related names	Theodora, Theodorus, Dorothy

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

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

The feminine form of Theodore is Theodora. The names Dorothy and Godiva also mean "gift of God".

Variants

Language	Variant(s)
Albanian	Teodor
Amharic	Tewodros (ቴዎድሮስ)
Arabic	Tawadros
Armenian	Thoros (Թորոս)
Belarusian	Fiodar (Фёдар), Todar (Тодар) and Teador (Тэадор), Bahdan (Багдан)
Bulgarian	Todor (Тодор), Teodor (Теодор) and Božidar (Божидар)
Catalan	Teodor
Czech	Teodor
Danish	Teodor and Theodor
Dutch	Theodoor, Theodorus
English	Theodore
Esperanto	Teodoro
Estonian	Tuudor, Tuudur
Finnish	Teuvo, Teodor
French	Théodore and Dieudonné (a direct translation of the Greek)
Georgian	Theodore (თევდორე)
German	Theodor
Greek	Theodoros (Θεόδωρος), Thodoros (Θόδωρος), Thodoris (Θοδωρής), Thodorakis (Θοδωράκης) and Doros (Δώρος)
Hebrew	Teodor (תאודור) and Theodore (תיאודור)
Hungarian	Tivadar, Tódor
Irish	Téodóir
Italian	Teodoro
Latin	Theodorus
Latvian	Teodors
Lithuanian	Teodoras
Ottoman	تواضروس
Norwegian	Teodor and Theodor
Polish	Teodor
Portuguese	Teodoro
Romanian	Tudor (which is also a surname) and Teodor; also Bogdan
Russian	Fyodor (Фёдор), Fedor (Федор) and Feodor (Феодор), Bogdan (Богдан).
Serbo-Croatian	Teodor (Теодор), Todor (Тодор) and Božidar (Божидар)
Sicilian	Teodoru
Slovene	Teodor
Spanish	Teodoro and Diosdado
Swedish	Teodor and Theodor
Turkish	Tevazirus
Ukrainian	Fedir (Федір), Fedor (Федор), Teodor (Теодор) and Khvedir (Хведір); also Bohdan (Богдан) and Bohodar (Богодар)
Welsh	Tewdwr

Diminutives

Hypocorism or calling names derived from Theodore can be:

Language	Nickname(s)
Bulgarian	Todor (Тодор): Toshko (Тошко) and Tosho (Тошо) Teodor (Теодор): Teo and Teddy (Теди) Božidar (Божидар): Božo (Божо)
Danish	Teo and Theo
Dutch	Dorus and Theo
English	Theo, Ted and Teddy
Finnish	Teo
French	Thierry
Georgian	Tedo (თედო)
Norwegian	Teo and Theo
Russian	Fedya (Федя)
Swedish	Teo and Theo

People named Theodore

Ancient world

Ordered chronologically

• Theodore Stratelates (died 319), Byzantine martyr and Warrior Saint
• Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 – 428), Byzantine bishop
• 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 II Laskaris (c. 1222 – 1258), Emperor of Nicaea
• 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
• Theodore Komnenos Doukas (died c. 1253), Emperor of Thessalonica

Modern world

Ordered by last name, where available; otherwise chronologically

• Theodore I of Corsica (1694–1756), German adventurer who was briefly King of Corsica
• Theodore I Laskaris (c. 1174 – c. 1222), first Emperor of Nicaea
• 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 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
• Theodore Bundy (1946-1989), prolific American serial killer, rapist, kidnapper, and necrophile
• 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 (born 1942), American letter bomber
• Theodore von Kármán (1881–1963), Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist
• Theodore Katsanevas (born 1947), 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 Harold Maiman (1927–2007), American engineer and physicist, inventor of the laser
• Theodore Edgar McCarrick (born 1930), American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
• Theodore Metochites (1270–1332), Byzantine statesman, author and philosopher
• Ted Nugent (born 1948), American rock musician and gun advocate
• Theodore Parker (1810–1860), American Transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church
• 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 Jr. (1887–1944), American government, business and military leader
• 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
• Ted Stevens, American former Senator from Alaska
• Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985), American science fiction author
• 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

See also

• All pages with titles beginning with John
• All pages with titles containing John
• Saint Theodore (disambiguation)
• Théodore (disambiguation)
• Theodor, a list of people with the given name
• Theodora (disambiguation)
• Theodore (surname)
• Theodoric
• Theodoros, a list of people with the given name Theodoros or Theodorus
• Teodorico, a list of people with the given name Teodorico or Theodorico
• Teodor
• Theodoor
• Fyodor
• Tawadros (disambiguation)
• Tewodros (disambiguation)
• Tudor (disambiguation)