Ted

Diminutive of Theodore or Edward
"gift of god; rich guard"

Ted Origin and Meaning

The name Ted is a boy's name meaning "gift of god; rich guard".

Like Ed, Eddie and Teddy, Ted is rarely used as an independent name – in the US, at least. In the UK, Eddie ranks just outside the Top 200, Teddy ranks just outside the Top 30, and Ted is a Top 200 pick.

With Theodore rising, Ted may have new life among parents who don't want to use the short form Theo. And TV's Ted Lasso makes it a quintessential nice guy name.

# 956 in the US

Ted Rank in US Top 1000

# 1381 on Nameberry

Ted Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Ted Popularity

Famous People Named Ted

  • Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy
    U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
  • Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt III
    U.S. politician and general; son of President Teddy Roosevelt
  • Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath
    British Prme Minister
  • Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent
    American rock musician
  • Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka)
    American actor
  • Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams
    American baseball player
  • Edward James "Ted" Hughes
    English poet
  • Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III
    American actor
  • Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens
    U.S. Senator from Alaska
  • Theodore Tillman "Ted" Shackelford III
    American actor
  • Ted Jensen
    American sound mastering engineer
  • Ted "Kid" Lewis (born Gershon Mendeloff)
    British boxer
  • Edward James Milton "Ted" Dwane
    bassist for English band Mumford & Sons
  • Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz
    Canadian,American U.S. Senator from Texas
  • Robert Edward "Ted" Turner
    American media mogul, founder of CNN
  • Edward James Martin "Ted" Koppel
    British,American TV journalist
  • Ted Mack (born William Edward Maguiness)
    American radio and TV host
  • Ted Gowans
    Canadian guitarist of band Tegan & Sara
  • Ted Fu
    American YouTube filmmaker of Wong Fu Productions
  • Theodore "Ted" Bundy
    American serial killer

Ted in Pop Culture

  • Ted Baxter
    character on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show;" played by Ted Knight
  • Ted Tonate
    character from "Ace Attorney" game series
  • Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby
    character on TV's "How I Met Your Mother"
  • Ted Chaough
    character on TV's "Mad Men"
  • Ted Tonks
    character in "Harry Potter" series.
  • Ted "Teddy" Lupin
    character from the Harry Potter series
  • Ted
    smart,mouth teddy bear in 2012 movie of same name & the 2015 sequel "Ted 2"
  • Tayler Mark "Ted" Beene
    character on TV series Oliver Beene
  • Kasane Ted
    UTAU and brother of Kasane Teto
  • Ted Theodore Logan
    character in movie "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure"
  • Ted
    the Generic Guy, character from the comic strip Dilbert
  • Ted
    gamekeeper of Lord Ralph Mayhew on British TV series The Fast Show
  • "Ted
    " 2001 novel by Tony DiTerlizzi and its main character
  • Ted Buckland
    character on TV's Scrubs
  • Father Ted Crilly
    character on British TV series Father Ted
  • Theodore Margaret "Ted" Crisp
    character on TV's Better Off Ted
  • Ted Lawson
    character on TV's Small Wonder
  • Ted Shaw
    character on TV's "Defying Gravity"
  • Theodore "Ted" Schmidt
    character on TV's Queer as Folk
  • Theodore "Ted" Sprague
    character on TV's Heroes
  • Ted Talbot
    Sr., character on TV series Rectify
  • Ted Shackleford aka "The Man With the Yellow Hat"
    a character in the Curious George series
  • Ted Hope
    character in movie "White House Down"
  • Ted Wilson
    reoccurring character on TV's "Pretty Little Liars"
  • TED Talks (Technology
    Entertainment, Design), lecture series
  • Ted Wiggins
    character in the 2012 movie "The Lorax"