2000
#7,638
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,014
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.49
Rare Last name
Theodore
A surname derived from the Greek personal name Theodoros, meaning "gift of God."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,033 Americans carry the last name Theodore. That puts it at #7,320 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,101 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Theodore surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Theodore with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.0K
1 in 68,101
Census rank
#7,320
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,389 bearers of the surname Theodore in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7320th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Theodore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (43.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Theodore
The surname Theodore originated from the Greek name Theodoros, which is composed of the elements "theos" meaning God and "doron" meaning gift. The name was commonly used in ancient Greece and later in the Byzantine Empire. In its earliest forms, it was written as Θεοδωρος in Greek script.
During the medieval period, the name spread across Europe through the influence of the Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was adopted by various ethnic groups, leading to variations in spelling such as Theodor, Teodor, and Fedor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Theodore as a surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. The entry "Teodric" appears, likely referring to an individual with a similar variation of the name.
In the 12th century, a notable bearer of the name was Theodore of Tarsus, an influential Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690 AD. He played a crucial role in establishing the primacy of the See of Canterbury within the English Church.
Another prominent figure was Theodore the Studite, a Byzantine monk and theologian who lived from 759 to 826 AD. He was a staunch defender of the veneration of icons and is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
During the Renaissance, Theodore de Bry (1528-1598) was a renowned Flemish engraver and publisher known for his detailed illustrations of the Americas and their indigenous peoples.
In the 19th century, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was the 26th President of the United States and a prominent political figure known for his conservation efforts and the Square Deal domestic program.
Another notable bearer was Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), an American novelist and journalist who is considered one of the leading figures in the literary movement of naturalism with works such as "Sister Carrie" and "An American Tragedy."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Theodore
Among Census respondents with the surname Theodore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (43.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Theodore bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Theodore surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.0% · 2,018
- White43.2% · 1,895
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 174
- Two or more races3.5% · 153
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 109
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Theodore
Theodore appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,601
+587 bearers (+14.6%)
Per 100,000 1.56
Rank movement Up 391 places
2020
#7,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,389
-212 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.47
Rank movement Down 73 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,638 | 4,014 | 1.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,247 | 4,601 | 1.56 | +587 bearers (+14.6%) | Up 391 places |
| 2020 | #7,320 | 4,389 | 1.47 | -212 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 73 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Theodore surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,247 | #7,320 | -1.0% |
| Count | 4,601 | 4,389 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.56 | 1.47 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Theodore bearers went from 4,601 to 4,389 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 73 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,247 to #7,320.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Theodore
FAQ
Theodore surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Theodore?
Name Census estimates that about 5,033 living Americans carry the surname Theodore. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,101 residents.
How common is Theodore?
Theodore ranks #7,320 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.47 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,389 people with the surname Theodore. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,033), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.47 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Theodore.
Has Theodore become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Theodore went from 4,601 recorded bearers to 4,389. That is a decrease of 212 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,247 to #7,320.
What does the Census say about the background of Theodore?
Among Census respondents with the surname Theodore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (43.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Theodore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.0% (2,018 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Theodore appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (46.0%), White (43.2%), Hispanic (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Theodore (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Theodore mean?
A surname derived from the Greek personal name Theodoros, meaning "gift of God." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Theodore (1.47 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Theodore?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.