Thoughts on Theodora?

[eleanorsmellstrop]

please? 😊

It’s nice enough - I also like Theodosia! What would put me off is Theo/Teddy. Teddy has fallen out a bit lately but there’s still at least two (if not more) boys named Theo in every preschool class. It’s become a bit like Lily or Sophia or Oliver to me - a lovely name that’s just been so overused that I don’t really like it as much anymore.

I would say I don’t think that poster was saying it’s a made up/invented name. She was saying it ‘sounds made up’ or that it’s unfamiliar. Lots of names aren’t made up but could ‘sound made up’ because they’re unfamiliar.

I just mention how popular it is because you mention other names as ‘overdone’ but to me any Theo name is overdone! I still like it but it’s so so popular for boys so sounds overdone to me.

Theodora is listed as 364th so I’m happy with how used it it - it’s less common than all of my other children’s names so I don’t mind this. I’d be worried about something in the top 10 or even too 50 but at 364 I’m not worried 😊

As for nicknames, I love all the nicknames! And we are abroad so its not at all popular here 😁

I like it!

I know what you mean about Theodore being ruined by it’s popularity and also disregarded it as a boys name for the same reason (although I do like the boys version a lot less)

Obviously I wasn’t saying Theodora is super popular - but Theo and Teddy (which might end up her day to day name) are both incredibly popular. I presumed it was important to you since you thought names like Nova/Dakota are ‘overdone’ so I thought that would be important to you.

Beautiful and very nearly used it for my second DD. I would have used Dora as a nickname not Thea. Opted for Florence last minute, but really do love Theodora

OP, that's a lot of energy you've spent on someone whose opinion you say you don't care about. Not everyone will love your choice of name and that's fine. Shock horror, even people with whom you share similar tastes elsewhere may not like the name.

I think it's okay but not to my taste. I'd guess it's one of those names that is still rare-ish although not nearly as leftfield a choice as it would have been 10 years ago.

Actually Nova and Dakota weren’t the names I was referring to as overdone - I didn’t want to give her whole list because I thought that would be mean, but it included names like Lexi and Evie which to me are very overdone (although I haven’t checked the statistics they’re very common in my UK hometown)

Honestly pasting someone’s username into the ‘advanced search’ bar really wasn’t that difficult!

Usually I wouldn’t check but this poster seemed unusually rude and aggressive with her opinion, so I checked to see if she was a troll who had posted similar on other threads as it seemed weird to me that she was so hostile.

Florence is beautiful! And lovely nicknames for Florence too. 😍

I love Theodora, but prob because I have a Theodore lol
Alternative is Theodosia

I know a Theodora - nice name . Friend ( mother ) said little ones in her experience can't pronounce it very well so she ended up with a nick name which stuck. But then I think nicknames sort of grow rather than given. Just one view

I’ve never considered Theodosia before but I think it’s growing on me.

Is the ‘sia’ at the end pronounced more like a ‘shuh’ or more like a ‘see-uh’?

I actually have that problem with one of my daughters - she’s two and can’t pronounce her name properly. She actually also has a nickname which is nothing to do with her name! Her brother came up with it by himself and it sort of stuck, so I agree with you that nicknames often grow or spring up by themselves! 😁

Theodora gets misspelt as Theadora, and Thea is rising in popularity.
names.darkgreener.com/#thea

Theo/Theodore is extremely popular, and Thea fits in with the Mia, Lia/Leah, Fiadh/Sophia trend.

I can't see any appeal in Theodora or Thea.

Theodora is lovely , with Thea as a nickname, also made me think of Theodosia , but I’m a big fan of Hamilton , and actually think Theodora is prettier . Will now be humming Dear Theodosia for the rest of the day .

I actually moved past it several decades ago but, given the economic upheavals, I'm working hard on being downwardly mobile.
However, if I'm reading the op correctly, it's not class signifiers so much as cultural signifiers that matter. Theodora is quite a culturally sophisticated choice. It has a history and context and a meaning. Such things matter to some people. Others don't care, and that's OK too.

Some very strange comments on this thread and a lot of snobbery. I very much care about the history and meaning of my children’s names, but I still don’t like Theodora. That doesn’t mean I’m not ‘cultured’. I also have friends who probably would like the name. Just because we are the same ‘tribe’ though, it doesn’t mean we all like the same names. Some posters seem to have decided that anyone who doesn’t like the name are beneath them.

Pretty sure Robbie Williams has a child called that. That would me off but may a plus point for you, who knows.

Love it.
I'm still sulking that DS didn't use it for his new baby girl.
Thea/Teddy/Dora all fab.

I love Theodora. I’ve liked it since Catherine Zeta Jones played a Theodora nn Theo in The Haunting when I was about 9.

Much prefer Theodora for a girl to Theodore for a boy.

Yes, you’re right! Names appeal to people who are interested in different things. If people are more interested in history or literature then their name choices will probably reflect that. Sorry that posters are being weirdly argumentative on this thread - it’s such an odd thread! Very rarely does the baby name board attract the grumps - they’re usually on AIBU 😁 - but I’m quite honoured that some of them have ventured over to my name thread! I know what you mean, and ignore the people who are deliberately misunderstanding! ☺️

We won’t be using Thea as a nickname ☺️

We also don’t live in the UK and there are no Mias and Sophias here.

As for misspelling the name - my son has a very easy to spell name (I thought) that is often misspelled in messages from friends! So I can’t help that, nor is it something that bothers me!