Theodora
The story
Theodora is Greek, gift of God, the feminine of Theodore, and its greatest bearer ran an empire: the sixth-century empress Theodora, Justinian's wife and by most accounts his sharpest adviser, who rose from the Constantinople stage to the Byzantine throne. In the US it kept a modest presence in the early twentieth century, went quiet through the middle decades, and is now climbing to its highest level yet, with the 2020s standing as its peak decade so far, pulled upward by the same vintage wave lifting Theodore. Thea is the elegant short form, Dora the vintage one, and Teddi the playful modern pick. An empress's name arriving at its American peak fifteen centuries after she wore it. Its present revival joins imperial weight to a remarkably flexible set of everyday forms.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Theodora peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,790 people · the #5,529 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 111,111 · median age 6
Among people named Theodora living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 576 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Theodora
People given the name Theodora in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2025. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Theodora deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Theodora 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 Theodora fits with your family’s names and surname.
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