Timothy

What Timothy means

Means “to honour + god”

From Middle French Timothée, from Latin Tīmotheus, from Ancient Greek Τῑμόθεος (Tīmótheos), from τῑμάω (tīmáō, “to honour”) + θεός (theós, “god”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Timothy” (revision 93741835), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Timothy?

US: Falling: down from #147 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #348 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1967, when 28,587 boys got the name (#11 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 985 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,833 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 4,910 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MS (3.05 per 1,000 boys), RI (2.24 per 1,000 boys), NH (2.22 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Timothy is #203 in the US and #418 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Timothy were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Timothee29 US · 10 E&W
• Timmothy7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Timothy

Boys

• Stephen#383“crown, wreath”^*
• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Gregory#593“watchful, vigilant”^*
• Michael#21“who is like God?”^*
• Steven#271“crown, wreath”^*
• Paul#262“small”^*

For a sister

• Melissa#419“bee, honey, or honeybee”^*
• Christina#770Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 16,600 babies; 352 in 2025
• Rebecca#349“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”^*
• Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”^*
• Nicole#382Form of Nicholas, meaning “victory + people”^*
• Cassandra#630Editor’s note Down from #512 in 2015 to #630 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Greek, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Timothy’s. Rank is US 2025.