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Ted

boy name
Origin
Greek
Syllables
1
Peak era
1920s/1960s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Ted and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

diminutive of Theodore, gift of god

The story

Read the story of Theodore →

More names with stories →

The formal names behind Ted

Ted is an established short form of each of these names.

Theodore · Greek origin · gift of God

Edward · Germanic origin · wealthy guardian

Why we verify every short-form relationship →

How popular is Ted around the world?

In the United States, 238 babies were named Ted between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 29 boys named Ted were born in 2025, the 170th most common name among boys that year.

Ted is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, New Zealand, England and Wales, Norway, Scotland and Brazil.

United States

1 in 92,000

In the United States, 238 babies were named Ted between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1920s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ted peaked in the 1920s and the 1960s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Ireland

1 in 1,900

In Ireland, 29 boys named Ted were born in 2025, the 170th most common name among boys that year.

1990peak 2021

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

South Australia

1 in 2,000 · 2017

In South Australia, 9 boys were registered as Ted in 2017.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

New Zealand

1 in 2,600

In New Zealand, 22 boys named Ted were registered in 2025.

2010peak 2023

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

England and Wales

1 in 3,300

In England and Wales, 176 boys named Ted were born in 2025, the 262nd most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20152025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Norway

1 in 5,600 · register 2026

In Norway, 5 boys were given the name Ted in 2025.

1945peak 19772025

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

See the full list for Norway →

Scotland

1 in 11,000

In Scotland, 4 boys named Ted were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

Brazil

1 in 330,000

At the 2022 census, 589 people in Brazil were named Ted, ranked 11,958th, with a median age of 38.
Among people named Ted living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.

1960speak 1980s2000s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

Canada

last on record 2023

Ted is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19922024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Chile

last on record 2020

Ted is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

France

last on record 2022

Ted is not on the 2025 record for France, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.

1940peak 19892025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Montevideo City

last on record 1979

Ted is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only).

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Ted

Most people given the name Ted in the United States were born between 1950 and 1979. The Ted you meet today is most often in his 50s or 60s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Ted

Alex Andy Stevie Denny Alec Aris

Keep exploring

Short names · What is Ted short for?

Name trails: explore connections from Ted →

The Ted deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ted truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Ted fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Ted fit YOUR family?

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