Tedd
A diminutive form of the masculine given name Theodore.
Name Census estimates that about 1,000 living Americans carry the first name Tedd. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tedd today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tedd births was 1963 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tedd. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tedd with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 342,754 Americans
Peak year
1963
53 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,832
Tracked since 1923
Census
Tedd in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,229 people with the first name Tedd, which placed it at #10,708 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,708
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,229 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tedd
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tedd is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tedd described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tedd at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.2% · 1,060
- Black or African American5.0% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 37
- Two or more races1.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 8
Popularity
Tedd: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tedd from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 393 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tedd by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tedd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tedds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Ohio, Minnesota, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Tedd, while Washington, Illinois, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tedd
The name Tedd is a masculine given name, primarily used in English-speaking countries. Its origins can be traced back to the Old English name Theodred, derived from the elements "theod" meaning "people" and "rad" meaning "counsel" or "advice". This name was borne by several Anglo-Saxon rulers and noblemen during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tedd can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Tedd" and "Tedde" in various entries, indicating its use among the English population at that time.
In medieval literature, the name Tedd is mentioned in several works, including Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" from the late 14th century. In the "Prologue" to this literary masterpiece, Chaucer introduces a character named "Tedd the Reeve", a manorial officer responsible for overseeing the lord's estate.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tedd. One of the earliest was Tedd of Faversham, an English reformer and martyr who lived in the late 14th century and was burned at the stake for his beliefs in 1381. Another figure was Tedd Troughton, an English actor and playwright from the 16th century, known for his performances in the plays of William Shakespeare.
In the 17th century, Tedd Hughes was a renowned Welsh mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of celestial mechanics and the motion of planets. He was born in 1623 and died in 1688.
During the 18th century, Tedd Dwight was an American clergyman and educator who served as the president of Yale College (now Yale University) from 1795 to 1817. He played a significant role in shaping the institution's curriculum and values.
In the 19th century, Tedd Mosby was a British explorer and naturalist who embarked on several expeditions to Africa and documented the region's flora and fauna. He was born in 1828 and died in 1901.
While the name Tedd has seen a decline in popularity in recent times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of English nomenclature, with its roots stretching back to the Anglo-Saxon era and a diverse array of historical figures who have borne this name throughout the centuries.
People
Tedd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tedd as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tedd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tedd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,000 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tedd going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 342,754 US residents.
Is Tedd a common name?
We classify Tedd as "Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,261 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tedd most popular?
The single biggest year for Tedd was 1963, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tedd is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tedd in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,229 people with the name Tedd, or 0.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,708 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tedd in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tedd?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tedd appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,223 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tedd?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tedd is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tedd most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tedd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (1,060 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tedd in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tedd a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tedd in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tedd still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tedd in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tedd can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Tedd as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Tedd on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.