Teddy has meant a bear for over a century — this book gives the name back to your Theodore

From Greek gift to comeback of the decade

Theodore comes from the Greek Theodoros — theos, 'god', and doron, 'gift' — so for more than two thousand years the name has meant 'gift of God'. It has been worn by saints and scholars, a seventh-century Archbishop of Canterbury, Byzantine emperors and early popes, and it travelled across Europe in local dress: Fyodor in Russia (Dostoevsky was one), Teodoro in Italy and Spain, Theodore again — with an accent — in France.

America gave the name its most famous twist. When President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a captive bear on a 1902 hunting trip, a newspaper cartoon of the scene inspired a toymaker to sell a stuffed 'Teddy's bear' — and every teddy bear since has been quietly carrying his nickname. Pop culture kept choosing the name too: the sweetest of the famous cartoon chipmunk trio answers to Theodore.

For decades afterwards, Theodore sat on the shelf of dignified old names — a grandfather's name, people said. Then parents rediscovered exactly that dignity: the name re-entered the American top ten in 2021 and has kept climbing since, and it sits near the top of the charts in England, Canada and Australia as well. A boy named Theodore today carries something rare — a name that is ancient, storied and completely current at the same time.

Teddy, Theo, Ted — the many sizes of Theodore

• Teddy — The warm, homely size — the version for pyjamas, bedtime and the bear on the pillow that shares it. If he is Teddy at home, a story about Teddy sounds like it was overheard in your own kitchen. No other boy's name doubles as the word for the toy he actually sleeps with — which makes the pairing on a bookshelf feel less like coincidence and more like fate.
• Theo — The quick, modern cut — two syllables that work equally well on a football pitch and a name tag. Across Europe, Theo now stands on birth certificates by itself, but for your boy it can stay what it does best: the everyday shorthand for a grander Theodore held in reserve.
• Ted — The no-nonsense single syllable, favoured by boys who have decided that four syllables take too long to say when an adventure is already starting. It is also the version his great-grandfather's generation knew best: a good share of the twentieth century's Teds were Theodores in their Sunday clothes.
• Theodore — The full ceremonial form — for title pages, first days of school and the moment in a story when the hero finally steps forward. Four syllables that make a sentence slow down and pay attention.