Theobald

Attested across 5 languages in the etymology graph.

Theobald is one spelling over 3 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 2 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• English72%

  from the Germanic male personal name Theobald, literally 'people-brave'.

  as a name·Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history]

  from OFr Theobald, Teobaud, Thiebaut, Tibaut, OG Theudobald, Thiotbald, ‘people-bold’, a common continental name; first attested Teobald, Tedbaldus, Tetbald, Tebaldus 1086 DB

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

  A male given name from the Germanic languages.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• German10%

  männl. Vom., latinisierte Form von

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• French6.9%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Theobald in French.

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

Theobald is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French surname3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Théobald

• Portuguese surname3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, Argentina, United Kingdom

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish

  Also written Théobald

• a separate name2 spellings in the group

  Also written Théobald

• Swahili surname4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Tanzania, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa

  Also written Théobald

• Italian surname2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Italy

  Also written Théobald

47 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Theobald is also recorded in 2 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• g From an Old French name of Germanic (Frankish) origin, derived from peud ‘people’, ‘race’ + bald ‘bold’, ‘brave’. The first element was altered under the influence of Greek theos ‘god’. This name was adopted by the Normans and introduced by them to Britain. Short form: Theo.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• English: from a Latinized form, first found in medieval documents, of a Norman name of Germanic origin, composed of the elements theud people, race + bald bold, brave; the first element has been altered under the influence of Greek theos god. Cognates: Irish Gaelic: Tiobóid. Scottish Gaelic: Tiobaid .

  as a word

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Lewis Theobaldb. 1688GBEnglish editor and author (1688–1744)
• Karl Theobaldb. 1969GBEnglish actor and comedian
• Jeremy Theobaldb. 2000GBBritish actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

48 registers and reference works attest this spelling, across 24 countries.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

What does the name Theobald mean, and where does it come from?

from the Germanic male personal name Theobald, literally 'people-brave'. Recorded by Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history].

What are other forms of the name Theobald?

In the etymology graph, Baldo is a form of the same name in other languages; Tibby is a recorded short or pet form.

How do you pronounce Theobald?

In English /ˈtɪbəɫd/ (Wiktionary).

Which countries have the most people with the surname Theobald?

In the United States, the national register counted about 4.3 thousand people named Theobald, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled theobald. After it come United Kingdom, Tanzania, France and Brazil; the country table on this page ranks them.

How common is the name Theobald?

In the United States, the national register counted 4,300 people named Theobald in 2010, about 1 in 77 thousand residents.

How common is Theobald compared with other names?

In Antigua & Barbuda, Theobald is the 750th most common surname of 30,187 surnames recorded there.