The name Theodore peaked in 1920 at 3,219 births. That number held as the all-time record for 105 years. Then the name declined, spent decades in the background, and started climbing again around 2010.
In 2025, 13,355 babies were named Theodore. That's a new all-time record, more than four times higher than the 1920 peak. The name didn't recover. It broke through.
Theodore, 1880 to 2025
Annual births from the SSA national dataset. The 1920 annotation marks the previous all-time high. The 2025 point breaks it by 4x.
14k 7k 0 1880 1920 1980 2025 3,219 in 1920 (previous record) 13,355 in 2025
A classic comeback name needs generational distance. Names from a parent's era still feel dated. Names from a grandparent's or great-grandparent's era can feel newly available, with enough remove that the prior generation's associations have worn off. Theodore, Leo, Nora, and Evelyn all sit in that window.
Old peak vs. 2025: names breaking their own records
Historic all-time peak count vs. 2025 births, from the SSA dataset.
Theodore 13,355. 4x the 1920 record of 3,219.
Leo 8,173. 2x the 1919 record of 4,054.
Nora 6,380. 4.3x the 1916 record of 1,477.
Evelyn 11,985. 1.7x the 1920s peak around 7,200.
Eleanor 7,649. Closing in on the 1930 record of 8,497.
Hazel 5,836. Approaching the 1921 record of 7,615.
Eleanor and Hazel haven't quite cleared their old records, but they're climbing. Theodore, Leo, and Nora already have. These aren't names with a nostalgic following anymore. They're at the top of the list.
Browse more at Comeback names, or check the full arcs of Theodore, Leo, Nora, and Evelyn.