Timothey
A masculine name from Greek meaning "honoring God" or "in God's honor".
Name Census estimates that about 511 living Americans carry the first name Timothey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Timothey today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Timothey births was 1959 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Timothey. 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 Timothey with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
511
~ 1 in 670,752 Americans
Peak year
1959
31 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2009 SSA rank
#14,296
Tracked since 1949
Census
Timothey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 311 people with the first name Timothey, which placed it at #28,739 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
#28,739
National first-name rank
People counted
311
311 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Timothey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Timothey is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Timothey 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 Timothey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 254
- Black or African American8.0% · 25
- Two or more races4.5% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 5
Popularity
Timothey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Timothey from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 234 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
Timothey 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 Timothey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Timotheys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Timothey
The name Timothey has its origins in the Greek language and culture. It is derived from the Greek words "timē" meaning honor or respect, and "theos" meaning God. The name can be translated to mean "one who honors God" or "revered by God."
In the New Testament of the Bible, Timothy was a disciple of the Apostle Paul and a Christian evangelist. Paul's First and Second Epistles to Timothy are included in the Bible and provide insights into Timothy's life and ministry. The name became popular among early Christians as a way to honor this biblical figure.
The earliest recorded use of the name Timothey dates back to the 1st century AD, during the time of the Apostle Paul and the spread of Christianity. It was initially popular among Greek-speaking communities and later spread to other regions as Christianity expanded.
One of the most notable individuals named Timothey in history was Timothey of Gaza, a 6th-century Christian martyr and saint. He was a deacon who was tortured and executed during the reign of Emperor Diocletian for refusing to renounce his Christian faith.
Another notable Timothey was Timothey I, the Patriarch of Constantinople from 511 to 518 AD. He played a significant role in the Christological controversies of the time and was involved in the formulation of the Henotikon, an attempt to reconcile the differing views on the nature of Christ.
In the 9th century, Timothey I, the Patriarch of Baghdad, was a prominent figure in the Church of the East. He made significant contributions to the spread of Christianity in the East and was known for his diplomatic skills in dealing with Muslim rulers.
During the Renaissance period, Timothey Bright (1551-1615) was an English physician and writer. He authored several medical treatises and is considered one of the pioneers of early modern English medicine.
In the field of literature, Timothey Dwight (1752-1817) was an American Congregational minister, educator, and writer. He served as the eighth President of Yale College and was a prominent figure in the Connecticut Wits literary group.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals named Timothey throughout history, but the name has been used across various cultures and time periods, carrying the symbolic meaning of honor and reverence for God.
People
Timothey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Timothey 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
Timothey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Timothey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 511 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Timothey 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 670,752 US residents.
Is Timothey a common name?
We classify Timothey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 591 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Timothey most popular?
The single biggest year for Timothey was 1959, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Timothey is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Timothey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 311 people with the name Timothey, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,739 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 Timothey 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 Timothey?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Timothey appears almost entirely male. Of the 307 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Timothey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Timothey is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Timothey most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Timothey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (254 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 Timothey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Timothey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Timothey 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 Timothey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Timothey 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 Timothey 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 the name Timothey?
Find out how many people share the name Timothey on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.