Theodosia
An English feminine given name derived from Greek meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 537 living Americans carry the first name Theodosia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Theodosia today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Theodosia births was 1918 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Theodosia. 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.
People living today
537
~ 1 in 638,276 Americans
Peak year
1918
45 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,864
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Theodosia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Theodosia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 300 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Theodosia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Theodosia 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 Theodosia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Theodosias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan recorded the most babies named Theodosia, while West Virginia, Indiana, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Theodosia
The name Theodosia has its roots in Ancient Greek, originating from the elements "theos" meaning God and "dosia" meaning gift or present. It can be translated to mean "gift of God" or "God-given". The name dates back to classical antiquity in the Hellenic world and was in use among Greek communities throughout the Mediterranean region from around the 5th century BC.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Theodosia, the wife of the Samnite leader Gaius Pontius who was captured after the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC during the Second Samnite War. The name also appears in early Christian writings, such as the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, which mentions a woman named Theodosia from Antioch in the 1st century AD.
In the 4th century AD, Theodosia was the name of the elder daughter of the Roman emperor Valentinian I and his wife Marina Severa. She was born around 365 AD and married the Vandal king Huneric in 385 AD. Another notable Theodosia from antiquity was the daughter of the philosopher Hermesinax, who lived in the late 4th or early 5th century AD.
During the Middle Ages, the name saw continued use among Greeks and was also adopted by some Western Europeans, particularly in Italy and Spain. One of the earliest known Western bearers was Theodosia, the wife of the Visigothic king Leovigild who ruled in the 6th century AD. In the 9th century, Theodosia was the name of a Byzantine empress, the second wife of Emperor Basil I.
In more recent history, Theodosia Burr (1783-1813) was the daughter of US Vice President Aaron Burr and was renowned for her education and accomplishments. Theodosia Trollope (1809-1863) was an English author and writer, best known for her book "Domestic Manners of the Americans". Theodosia Garrett (1845-1920) was an American educator and pioneering figure in the field of deaf education.
Other notable Theodosias include Theodosia Pickering (1763-1854), a member of the Pickering family of Massachusetts and a prominent social figure in her time, and Theodosia Ammons (1883-1975), an American quilter and folk artist whose quilts are now highly prized works of art.
People
Theodosia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Theodosia 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
Theodosia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Theodosia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 537 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Theodosia 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 638,276 US residents.
Is Theodosia a common name?
We classify Theodosia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,669 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Theodosia most popular?
The single biggest year for Theodosia was 1918, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Theodosia is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Theodosia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Theodosia in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.