Tedy
A masculine name derived from the Old English name Theodore, meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Tedy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tedy today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tedy births was 2023 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tedy. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tedy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2023
6 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,080
Tracked since 2023
Census
Tedy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 148 people with the first name Tedy, which placed it at #45,698 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
#45,698
National first-name rank
People counted
148
148 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
36.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tedy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tedy is White at 36.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.4%) and Black (17.6%). 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 Tedy 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 Tedy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White36.5% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino26.4% · 39
- Black or African American17.6% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander16.2% · 24
- Two or more races3.4% · 5
Popularity
Tedy: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tedy 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 Tedy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tedy
The name Tedy is believed to have its origins in the Old German language, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is thought to be a variant or diminutive form of the name Theodore, which itself is derived from the Greek words "theos" meaning "God" and "doron" meaning "gift." Thus, the name Tedy can be interpreted as a "gift from God."
In its early days, the name Tedy was predominantly found in Germanic regions of Europe, particularly in areas now part of modern-day Germany and Austria. Some scholars suggest that it may have been influenced by the Old High German name "Tedi" or "Tetti," which shared similar roots with Theodore.
While the name Tedy does not appear to have been prominently featured in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it gained popularity during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Tedy von Nürnberg, a German nobleman who lived in the 13th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Tedy. In the 16th century, Tedy Bry was a renowned Flemish engraver and publisher, best known for his detailed illustrations of the Americas and their indigenous peoples. Another prominent bearer of the name was Tedy Pedersdatter, a Norwegian merchant and landowner who lived in the 17th century and was one of the wealthiest individuals in her region.
In more recent times, Tedy Andrée was a Swedish explorer and engineer who attempted an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole by hydrogen balloon in 1897. His fate remained a mystery for decades until the wreckage of his expedition was discovered on the Arctic ice in 1930.
Another notable figure was Tedy Bruschi, an American football player who was born in 1973. He played as a linebacker for the New England Patriots and was a key member of the team's dynasty, winning three Super Bowl championships during his career.
While the name Tedy may not be as common as it once was, it has left an indelible mark on history, carried by individuals from various walks of life and cultures. Its enduring legacy serves as a testament to the rich tapestry of names that have shaped our world.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tedy
People
Tedy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tedy 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
Tedy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tedy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tedy 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Tedy a common name?
We classify Tedy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tedy most popular?
The single biggest year for Tedy was 2023, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tedy is about 3 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tedy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 148 people with the name Tedy, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,698 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 Tedy 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 Tedy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tedy leans strongly male. 121 people counted with this name were male (80.7%), compared with 29 female bearers (19.3%). 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 Tedy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tedy is White at 36.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.4%) and Black (17.6%). 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 Tedy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tedy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 36.5% (54 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 Tedy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tedy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tedy 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 Tedy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tedy 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 Tedy 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 Tedy as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.