In any form, it means "God(s)-given", or "gift of God/Gods", as do the given names Jonathan, Nathaniel, Matthew, Hibatullah, Devadatta, Dosetai, Bogdan, Diosdado, Dieudonné, and Adeodatus.

[citation needed] The name has risen in popularity across the Anglosphere in recent years.

Theodore was among the five most popular names for White newborn boys in the American state of Virginia in 2022.

[2] It was among the ten most popular names for newborn boys nationally in the United States in 2021.

Although similar to, and probably influenced by it, the Germanic name Theodoric (and variants Theodoricus, Dietrich, Thierry, and others) has a separate origin.