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Boy name · Greek

Tim

Name meaning, origin and popularity

: honoring God

Tim is a boy's name that comes from Greek and means "honoring God". It is used in English, German and Dutch.

Meaning
Honoring God
Origin
Greek
Gender
Boy
US rank
#3230 in 2025

Meaning and origin of Tim

As a boy's name, Tim comes from Greek and means "honoring God". It is used in English, German and Dutch.

Meanings come from published name dictionaries, led by Behind the Name. How we research names

Tim on Nomezo lists

What our editors wrote about Tim on 1 list.

  • “MIT's mascot, whose name is the school spelled backward”

    From Beaver names, famous beaver names

How popular is Tim?

US rank in 2025
#3,230
37 babies, 22 per million boys
Best rank
#60 in 1959
Most babies: 6,931 in 1960
Babies since 1880
At least 83,358
Years with under 5 are not listed
1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s
Babies per million US boys, by decade (the 2020s so far, to 2025). Highest in the 1960s, at 2,158 per million.
Babies named Tim per million US boys, by decade; highest in the 1960s
1880s127 per million
1890s116 per million
1900s141 per million
1910s68 per million
1920s55 per million
1930s130 per million
1940s538 per million
1950s1,098 per million
1960s2,158 per million
1970s321 per million
1980s61 per million
1990s34 per million
2000s39 per million
2010s31 per million
2020s23 per million
US rank by year
Year2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Rank#2,083#2,444#2,353#2,389#3,482#2,968#3,607#3,285#2,520#3,230

Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, 1880 to 2025, as published in 2026. Each spelling is counted separately, a name given to fewer than 5 babies of one sex in a year is left out, and few people born before 1937 have records, which is why the chart shows babies per million rather than raw counts.

Other forms of Tim

The same name in other languages and spellings, with the same meaning and origin.

  • TimaShort form of Timofei, honoring God, or Timur, iron (Greek, boy)
  • TimoHonoring God (Greek, boy)
  • TimofeiHonoring God (Greek, boy)
  • TimoteoHonoring God (Greek, boy)
  • TimothéeHonoring God (Greek, boy)
  • TimotheosHonoring God (Greek, boy)
  • TimothyHonoring God (Greek, boy)
  • TymoteuszHonoring God (Greek, boy)

Names spelled like Tim

One or two letters apart, but from a different root: they look alike without sharing a meaning.

  • TomA twin (Aramaic, boy)
  • TamA twin (Aramaic, boy)
  • TimurIron (Turkic, boy)
  • TalDew, morning dew (Hebrew, unisex)
  • TaoGreat waves (depends on characters) (Chinese, boy)
  • TianHeaven, sky (depends on characters) (Chinese, boy)
  • TillRuler of the people (Germanic, boy)
  • TimonHonor (Greek, boy)
  • ToméA twin (Aramaic, boy)

Names with a similar meaning

  • ArchanaHonoring, praising (Sanskrit, girl)
  • DiotimaHonoring the god (Greek, girl)
  • Jesús MaríaHonoring Jesus and Mary (Hebrew, boy)
  • TimareteHonoring virtue (Greek, girl)

Middle names for Tim

Picked from our middle-name lists with a different first letter and a longer length, so the full name flows.

  • AbrahamFather of many (Hebrew, boy)
  • AltonTown at a river's source (Old English, boy)
  • BernardBrave bear (Germanic, boy)
  • BradleyBroad clearing (Old English, boy)
  • EverettBrave boar (Germanic, boy)
  • LeanderLion man (Greek, boy)
  • PeterRock, stone (Greek, boy)
  • ScottFrom Scotland (English, boy)

More boy names from Greek

  • AlexanderDefender of men (Greek, boy)
  • LucasMan from Lucania (Greek, boy)
  • ChristianFollower of Christ (Greek, boy)
  • LeonA lion (Greek, boy)
  • HectorHolding fast (Greek, boy)
  • TheoGift of God (Greek, boy)
  • AlexisHelper, defender (Greek, boy)
  • LucaMan from Lucania (Greek, boy)
  • SebastianMan of sebaste, venerable (Greek, boy)
  • AlexDefender, protector (Greek, unisex)
  • AndreasManly, brave (Greek, boy)
  • CyrilLordly (Greek, boy)
  • FilipLover of horses (Greek, boy)
  • KlausVictory of the people (Greek, boy)
  • LinusFlax plant (Greek, boy)
  • NarcisoNarcissus flower (Greek, boy)
  • NicoVictory of the people (Greek, boy)
  • StefanCrown, garland (Greek, boy)

Tim: common questions

What does the name Tim mean?

Tim comes from Greek and means "honoring God".

Is Tim a boy or girl name?

Tim is mainly a boy's name.

Where does the name Tim come from?

Tim comes from Greek and means "honoring God". Today it is used in English, German and Dutch.

How popular is the name Tim?

Tim ranked #3,230 in the US in 2025, with 37 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

What are other forms of Tim?

Forms of Tim with the same meaning and origin include Tima (Russian), Timo (German), Timofei (Russian), Timoteo (Spanish) and Timothée (French).

What middle names go with Tim?

Middle names that flow well with Tim include Abraham, Alton, Bernard, Bradley and Everett. A different first letter and a contrasting length usually sound best.