embrisa.
embrisa.
Theme
Masculine

Timothy

/ˈtɪm.ə.θi/

Honoring God

Greek

How to say it

TIM · o · thy

/ˈtɪm.ə.θi/

What it means

Greek Timotheos, from timē ('honor') + theos ('God'). Paul's young protégé in the New Testament — two of Paul's epistles are letters to Timothy.

Timothy comes from the Greek Timotheos (timē 'honor' + theos 'God'), 'honoring God.' In the New Testament Timothy is Paul's young protégé; Paul's first and second letters to Timothy are pastoral epistles that became foundational church-leadership texts. Saint Timothy is traditionally the first bishop of Ephesus. The English Timothy has been steady through the centuries and peaked in the mid-20th century with the wave of broader New Testament names. Timothée Chalamet (the French spelling) gave the name a 2010s reboot in English-language cinema. The English short is Tim, universal across all generations.

Popularity over time

#10 #100 #1 #38318802025

peaked at #11 in 1960, currently #203 in 2025.

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving

Heads-up notes

  • Nickname

    Tim is the universal short and works through every age.

Who's worn it

Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.

  • Saint Timothy Paul's young protégé in the New Testament, traditionally first bishop of Ephesus
  • Timothée Chalamet French-American actor, Call Me by Your Name and Dune
  • Timothy McVeigh Oklahoma City bomber, 1968-2001 (the darker cultural reference)

Spelling variants

  • Timothée
  • Timoteo