Meanings
alternative Theodor
- A male given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek]; the name of a saint, pope, several emperors, etc.
'Perfect. What name are we going to give him?' 'Theo.' 'Oh.' 'As in Theodore.' 'Isn't that rather a...?' He stopped. Smiled at her again. 'Why Theodore?' 'I like it. And it suits him. Maybe because it contains the sound 'adore'.'
2010, Maggie O'Farrell, The Hand That First Held Mine, Headline, →ISBN, page 2341 more example
It is as well certainly not to call a parcel of idle and ragged young rogues by the titles of Augustus, Orlando, and Theodore: nor does it sound very fitting and heroical to hear a father cry out pompously to his little boy, as we did once, - "You, Sir, there, - Maximilian,- come out of the gutter."
1820 February 9, Leigh Hunt, “Names”, in The Indicator, number XVIII
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰéh₁s
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰh₁sós
- Proto-Hellenic*tʰehós
- Ancient Greekθεός (theós)
- Proto-Indo-European*deh₃-
- Proto-Indo-European*dóh₃r̥
- Proto-Indo-European*déh₃rom
- Proto-Hellenic*dṓron
- Ancient Greekδῶρον (dôron)
- Ancient GreekΘεόδωρος (Theódōros)
- LatinTheodōru
- EnglishTheodore
Learned borrowing from Latin Theodōrus, borrowed from Ancient Greek Θεόδωρος (Theódōros), from θεός (theós, “god”) + δῶρον (dôron, “gift”). The name was popularized in reference to the prominent St Theodore of Amasea. Unrelated to Theodoric.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Θεόδωρος
- Θεόδωρος (Theódōros)male given name
Arabic ثِيُودُور
- ثِيُودُور (ṯiyūdūr)male given name
Bulgarian Теодо́р, То́дор
- Теодо́р (Teodór)male given name
- То́дор (Tódor)male given name
Catalan Teodor
- Teodormale given name
Chinese Mandarin 西奧多 /西奥多
- 西奧多 /西奥多 (Xī'àoduō)male given name
Czech Teodor
- Teodormale given name
Danish Theodor
- Theodormale given name
Dutch Theodoor
- Theodoormale given name
Esperanto Teodoro
- Teodoromale given name
Estonian Tuudor
- Tuudormale given name
Finnish Teuvo
- Teuvomale given name
French Théodore
- Théodoremale given name
German Theodor
- Theodormale given name
Greek Θεόδωρος, Θίοτορ
- Θεόδωρος (Theódoros)male given name
- Θίοτορ (Thíotor)male given name
Hebrew תיאודור
- תיאודור (tiodor)male given name
Hindi थिओडोर
- थिओडोर (thioḍor)male given name
Hungarian Tivadar
- Tivadarmale given name
Irish Téadóir
- Téadóirmale given name
Italian Teodoro
- Teodoromale given name
Japanese セオドア
- セオドア (Seodoa)male given name
Korean 시어도어
- 시어도어 (sieodo'eo)male given name
Latvian Teodors
- Teodorsmale given name
Lithuanian Teodoras
- Teodorasmale given name
Māori Hioroa, Tioroa
- Hioroamale given name
- Tioroamale given name
- Tiotoamale given name
Norwegian Theodor
- Theodormale given name
Polish Teodor
- Teodormale given name
Portuguese Teodoro
- Teodoromale given name
Romanian Teodor
- Teodormale given name
Russian Фёдор, Теодо́р
- Фёдор (Fjódor)male given name
- Теодо́р (Tɛodór)male given name
Spanish Teodoro
- Teodoromale given name
Swedish Teodor
- Teodormale given name
Thai ทีโอดอร์
- ทีโอดอร์ (tii-oo-dɔɔ)male given name
Ukrainian Теодо́р
- Теодо́р (Teodór)male given name
Vietnamese Thêôđorô
- Thêôđorômale given name
Welsh Tewdwr
- Tewdwrmale given name
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Theodore
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Theodore. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Theodore
“Theodore.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Theodore. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Theodore,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Theodore.
Source: Theodore on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.