Timothy

/T-IH-M-AH-TH-IY/

Boy Christian Greek origin EuropeanGreek

Honouring God, from Greek Timotheos, joining timē (honour) to theos (God), naming one who holds God in honour. Worn by the young companion of Paul to whom two New Testament letters are addressed, it has stayed a steady Christian name carrying devotion and trust.

See Timothy scored for your family

Meaning & origin

Timothy is a boy's name of Greek origin, traditionally used in Christian families. The name means "Honouring God, from Greek Timotheos, joining timē (honour) to theos (God), naming one who holds God in honour. Worn by the young companion of Paul to whom two New Testament letters are addressed, it has stayed a steady Christian name carrying devotion and trust." and belongs to the Divine cluster — names rooted in sacred meaning and spiritual tradition.

Common among European, Greek, Singaporean, HongKonger, Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese families, Timothy carries cultural weight that goes beyond its dictionary definition — it's a name with a story and a community.

Numerology of Timothy

Numerology assigns each name a single-digit destiny number by summing its letter values. Different schools use different mappings — NameRoot computes both so you can see how Timothy resonates in either tradition.

Pythagorean
11
intuition and inspired leadership (master number)
Chaldean
8
material mastery and executive power

How Timothy sounds

NameRoot scores the phonetic fit of every name against the sound of your last name. The pronunciation of Timothy breaks down into 6 phonemes: /T-IH-M-AH-TH-IY/. In the app, you'll see how those sounds flow with your family name across rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters.

Nicknames

Common affectionate forms of Timothy — useful for everyday family conversation, early childhood, or as standalone given names themselves.

TimTimmy

The six signals, applied to Timothy

NameRoot scores every name across six independent dimensions. Here's how Timothy maps to each — install the app to see the full compatibility score for your specific family.

01 — Birth Star
Nakshatra match
Enter your baby's birth date in the app and we'll compute the nakshatra compatibility score.
02 — Numerology
Destiny alignment
Pythagorean and Chaldean life-path calculations (destiny 11) matched against your family's own numerology profile.
03 — Phonetics
Last-name fit
Rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters measured with IPA to see how Timothy flows with your family name.
04 — Meaning
Divine
Timothy belongs to the Divine cluster — names rooted in sacred meaning and spiritual tradition.
05 — Cultural & Tradition
Christian
As a Christian name, Timothy carries religious and cultural weight scored against your family's heritage — plus grandparent-name matches, saint's-day alignment, and generational naming patterns scored against your family tree.
06 — Uniqueness
Popularity balance
How common Timothy is today versus historically — finding the sweet spot between familiar and forgotten.

Names similar to Timothy

If Timothy resonates with you, these names live in the same world — drawn from the same tradition, sharing the same meaning, or echoing a similar sound.

From the same tradition

Other Christian boy names, common in European families

Liam
Irish diminutive of William (Uilliam), from Germanic 'wil' (will) + 'helm' (helmet). Global phenomenon.
Noah
Rest, comfort, repose, from Hebrew Noach, linked to the root meaning to rest or bring relief. Borne in scripture by the builder of the ark who outlasted the flood, it has stayed in continuous Western use and now sits among the most-given boys' names worldwide.
Oliver
From Latin olivarius (olive tree cultivator) or from the Frankish Olivier.
George
Farmer, earth worker — the patron saint of England, the name of six kings, and Prince George of Cambridge. England's defining name.

Sharing the same meaning

Other Christian boy names from the Divine cluster

Elijah
My God is Yahweh, the fiery prophet who rode a chariot to heaven — Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, called fire from the sky, and was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind without dying. His name burns with the absolute devotion of a man who stood alone against an entire kingdom's apostasy and won, armed with nothing but conviction and the fire of the one true God
Theodore
Gift of God, heaven's offering to the mortal world — Theodore reverses the syllables of Dorothy to create the same meaning from a masculine angle: God gives. Multiple saints and two American presidents carried this name, and it speaks of gratitude for the divine generosity that places children into families, talents into hands, and purpose into hearts that were waiting to be filled
Jack
God is gracious, by way of Jankin, a medieval English pet form of John (from Hebrew Yohanan, 'Yahweh is gracious'). Once a familiar nickname, it long ago outgrew that role to stand on its own and has repeatedly topped boys' name charts across Britain.

Names that sound similar

Christian boy names that open with the same syllables as Timothy

Tiago
James (Portuguese form) — Tiago (Portuguese, from Late Latin Sanctus Iacobus contracted to Sant'Iago, then Tiago) is the Portuguese form of James, the apostle. The Portuguese pilgrimage tradition to Santiago de Compostela ('Saint James of the Field of Stars') made Tiago foundational.
Tianyou
Heaven-blessed, heaven-protected — from the Mandarin tian (天, heaven, sky) and you (佑, to bless, to protect). A pious name placing the bearer under the guardian care of heaven, echoing the old benediction that heaven watch over and keep the one who carries it.
Tilman
Ruler of the people — Tilman Riemenschneider carved Germany's greatest medieval altarpieces

Common questions about Timothy

What does the name Timothy mean?

Timothy means "Honouring God, from Greek Timotheos, joining timē (honour) to theos (God), naming one who holds God in honour. Worn by the young companion of Paul to whom two New Testament letters are addressed, it has stayed a steady Christian name carrying devotion and trust.." It is a boy name of Greek origin, traditionally used in Christian families.

Is Timothy a boy or girl name?

Timothy is most commonly used as a boy name.

What is the origin of the name Timothy?

Timothy is of Greek origin, used in Christian tradition, commonly among European, Greek, Singaporean families.

What are common nicknames for Timothy?

Common short forms of Timothy include Tim, Timmy.

What is the numerology of Timothy?

Timothy has a Pythagorean destiny number of 11 — intuition and inspired leadership (master number).

See how Timothy scores for your family

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