Gender:
Origin:
German
30 famous people named Theodoric found on Wikipedia.
49 male in US.
Most recent ranking:
7816-th in year 1989
Best ranking:
3571-th in year 1969
Theodoric is a widespread Germanic given name. First attested in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. The name was Latinized as Theodoricus or Theodericus, originally from a Common Germanic form *þeudo-rīks ("people-ruler"), which would have resulted in a Gothic þiuda-reiks. Anglicized spellings of the name during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages include Theodoric, Theoderic, Theudoric, Theuderic. Gregory of Tours Latinized the name as Theodorus, in origin the unrelated Greek name Theodore (Θεόδωρος, meaning "god-gift").
As the name survived throughout the Middle Ages, it transformed into a multitude of forms in the languages of Western Europe. These include the High German form Dietrich, abbreviated Dieter, the Low German and Dutch form Diederik, or Dierik, abbreviated Dirck, Dirk, Dik or Diede, the Norwegian Tjodrik, and the French Thierry. Italian, Portuguese and Spanish have Teodorico.
The English forms Derek, Derrick and Terry have been re-introduced from the continent, from Low German, Dutch and French sources. The Welsh form Tudur is the origin of the name of the English Tudor dynasty.
Masc. proper name, from Late Latin Theodoricus, from Gothic, literally "ruler of the people," from Gothic þiuda "people" (see Teutonic) + *reiks "ruler" (see Reich). For spelling, see Theobald. The French form of the name, via the Franks, is Thierry.
Ruler of the people. From theud (people) and ric (power, ruler).