Nameling

Theodora

Gender
Girl
Say it
thee-o-DOR-a
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#387 for girls
US rank, 2025
#725 for girls

Theodora is a girls' name of Greek origin, meaning “gift of God”. In 2025 it ranked 387th for girls in the UK (121 babies) and 725th for girls in the US (384 babies).

What does Theodora mean?

Greek: feminine of Theodore

“gift of God”

The Byzantine empress Theodora ruled alongside her husband Justinian I in the 6th century.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Theodora a girl's or a boy's name?

Theodora is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 121 girls in the UK and 384 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Theodora in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#387among girls
Babies in 2025
121about 1 in 2,300 girls
Five-year trend
Steadydown 4% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 121 girls in the UK were named Theodora, making it the 387th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 377th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 139 girls.

Half of all the girls named Theodora in the UK since 1996 were born between 2014 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 169 girls in the UK were given Theodora or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #306, up from #387 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 353rd in England and Wales.

1996Busiest: 139 in 20192025
Theodora in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025121#387
2024119#401
2023113#410
2022121#396
2021121#408
2020129#377
2019139#353
2018100#484
201767#673
201672#641
201557#748
201485#558
201355#771
201238#1,019
201128#1,238
201023#1,418
200919#1,556
200824#1,293
200716#1,694
200615#1,681
200522#1,215
200417#1,399
200320#1,216
200210#1,874
200121#1,070
200025#954
19999#1,921
199815#1,350
19979#1,927
199613#1,450

How popular is Theodora in the US?

Rank in 2025
#725among girls
Babies in 2025
384about 1 in 4,200 girls
Five-year trend
Risingup 36% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 384 girls in the US were named Theodora, making it the 725th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 835th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 426 girls.

Half of all the girls named Theodora in the US since 1880 were born between 1929 and 2013, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 470 girls in the US were given Theodora or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #621, up from #725 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 426 in 20222025
Theodora in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025384#725
2024346#811
2023363#776
2022426#688
2021387#737
2020328#835
2019314#853
2018159#1,406
2017107#1,889
2016108#1,884
201581#2,294
201485#2,213
201396#2,020
201268#2,632
201161#2,837
201047#3,408
200945#3,560
200841#3,858
200747#3,481
200649#3,315
200541#3,583
200444#3,387
200352#2,920
200247#3,065
200137#3,545
200044#3,117
199948#2,809
199852#2,611
199733#3,445
199646#2,668
199554#2,389
199449#2,536
199358#2,236
199242#2,825
199136#3,091
199039#2,895
198942#2,652
198841#2,592
198749#2,197
198651#2,078
198549#2,136
198440#2,381
198342#2,271
198238#2,492
198135#2,614
198041#2,342
197929#2,931
197830#2,741
197737#2,381
197642#2,060
197546#1,935
197450#1,772
197354#1,666
197255#1,627
197152#1,730
197041#2,017
196956#1,591
196843#1,812
196769#1,316
196670#1,291
196563#1,390
196485#1,198
196375#1,271
196283#1,212
196188#1,175
196083#1,191
1959110#1,004
195890#1,111
195785#1,143
1956104#1,001
1955100#998
1954102#957
1953117#866
1952125#810
1951104#881
1950104#868
1949134#736
1948131#737
1947143#707
1946125#723
1945142#604
1944140#620
1943141#639
1942189#538
1941140#595
1940126#626
1939131#583
1938146#565
1937167#509
193660#876
193586#723
193482#736
193390#683
1932115#616
1931108#640
1930114#646
1929141#576
1928150#578
1927156#571
1926131#624
1925153#583
1924177#546
1923158#571
1922172#539
1921184#521
1920175#536
1919133#608
1918166#546
1917129#601
1916122#612
1915129#565
191478#656
191387#544
191260#639
191150#605
191040#672
190942#594
190852#503
190737#614
190641#549
190540#547
190439#529
190324#680
190224#688
190119#747
190024#742
189916#814
189829#597
189720#699
189621#688
189528#565
189420#664
189315#767
189222#590
189123#541
189026#508
188918#600
188818#593
188712#661
18868#828
188518#500
18846#930
188311#579
18820–
18815#830
188011#518

Nicknames for Theodora

Names like Theodora

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Ophelia Cora Ada Matilda Aurelia Cleo Clara Nora Etta Eliza Nina Eva

Other spellings of Theodora

Theadora

Names related to Theodora

Teodora

More Greek names

Luca Theodore Sophia George Theo Lucas Sofia Alexander Sebastian Penelope Phoebe Margot Luke Chloe Sophie Zoe

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Theodora: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/theodora, updated 20 October 2026.