Given name & surname · also Greek
Thaddeus
“having heart”
Thaddeus is used as a given name and a surname. One Aramaic interpretation is “having heart.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Aramaic interpretation is “having heart.” Its derivation is not certain.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Aramaic and Greek naming traditions. The precise derivation is uncertain.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Thaddeus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 26,089
- 26,057 boys · 32 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 416 babies
- 2025
- 314
- #798 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −17%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 314 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 798 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 17.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 416 in 2016. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (26). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 15,514 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Thaddeus’s family of names
In English usage, Thaddeus has a nickname in Ted. Thaddeus has a later derivative in Tadeusz. Thaddeus has a related form in Tad.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Thaddeus has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Aramaic roots to each of them.
10 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 18
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 20
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Thaddeus
- Thaddeus StevensAmerican statesman (1792–1868)
- Thaddeus YoungAmerican basketball player (born 1988)
- Addai of EdessaChristian saint and one of the seventy disciples of Jesus100–50
- Thaddeus McCotterAmerican politician (born 1965)
- Thaddeus CahillAmerican inventor (1867–1934)
- Thaddeus ShidelerAmerican hurdler1883–1966
- Thaddäus HaenkeSudeten botanist, traveller, ethnographer, cartographer and doctor1761–1816
- Thaddeus S. C. LoweAmerican chemist and inventor (1832–1913)
- Thaddeus H. CarawayAmerican politician (1871-1931)
Characters named Thaddeus: Thunderbolt Ross (Marvel Comics), Doctor Sivana (fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Thaddeus, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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