Boys' name · peaked in 1933
Teddy name popularity since 1925
32,588 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Teddy (5.0% girls, 95.0% boys). Half of them were born in 1957 or earlier, so the typical Teddy is about 69 years old in 2026. Teddy peaked in 1933 as the #239 name for boys, and it ranked #823 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 32,588
- Named Teddy, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1933
- #239 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #823
- for boys in 2025 (301 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 95.0% boys
- 1,627 girls · 30,961 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 5.00× its national share
Peak year is the year Teddy made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Teddy births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1949. Measured as a share of all babies, Teddy peaked in 1933.
- Steepest fall: Between 1979 and 1984, Teddy's share of baby boys fell by 48%, from 1 in 5,920 to 1 in 11,300.
- Fastest rise: Between 2019 and 2024, it became 2.3× more common, from 1 in 14,800 baby boys to 1 in 6,500.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Teddy's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Teddy.
Decade by decade
Babies named Teddy in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 103 | 1,652 | – |
| 1930s | 229 | 4,385 | #267 |
| 1940s | 340 | 5,145 | #276 |
| 1950s | 221 | 5,416 | #337 |
| 1960s | 100 | 5,280 | #329 |
| 1970s | 58 | 3,009 | #482 |
| 1980s | 55 | 1,950 | #725 |
| 1990s | 91 | 1,211 | #1,191 |
| 2000s | 29 | 779 | #1,739 |
| 2010s | 129 | 830 | #1,716 |
| 2020–25 | 272 | 1,304 | #823 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.4% of babies named Teddy from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Teddy is most popular
The index compares Teddy's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Teddy.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 5.00× | 1,179 |
| Oklahoma | 3.38× | 1,179 |
| Kentucky | 3.18× | 1,428 |
| Arkansas | 2.93× | 806 |
| Tennessee | 2.67× | 1,505 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Teddy and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Teddy (this page) | 30,961 | 1933 |
| Teddie | 1,256 | 1903 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Teddy's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Teddy.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Teddy (1933).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data