Timothy
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Ancient Greek of biblical origin, also borne by early Christian saints. From Middle French Timothée, from Latin Tīmotheus, from Ancient Greek Τῑμόθεος (Tīmótheos), from τῑμάω (tīmáō, “to honour”) + θεός (theós, “god”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Timothy (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Timothy has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2002. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 36 |
| 1999 | 31 |
| 2000 | 29 |
| 2001 | 24 |
| 2002 | 37 |
| 2003 | 35 |
| 2004 | 26 |
| 2005 | 21 |
| 2006 | 19 |
| 2007 | 23 |
| 2008 | 19 |
| 2009 | 27 |
| 2010 | 19 |
| 2011 | 15 |
| 2012 | 23 |
| 2013 | 23 |
| 2014 | 13 |
| 2015 | 14 |
| 2016 | 11 |
| 2017 | 21 |
| 2018 | 19 |
| 2019 | 16 |
| 2020 | 19 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 15 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 566 |
| 2000 | 613 |
| 2001 | 640 |
| 2002 | 684 |
| 2003 | 729 |
| 2004 | 768 |
| 2005 | 799 |
| 2006 | 817 |
| 2007 | 852 |
| 2008 | 888 |
| 2009 | 916 |
| 2010 | 952 |
| 2011 | 988 |
| 2012 | 1,013 |
| 2013 | 1,044 |
| 2014 | 1,073 |
| 2015 | 1,073 |
| 2016 | 1,090 |
| 2017 | 1,129 |
| 2018 | 1,157 |
| 2019 | 1,185 |
| 2020 | 1,214 |
Timothy in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Timothy.Hi! My name is Timothy.
- Timothy ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Timothy called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Timothy i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Timothy this afternoon.
- Timothys mamma är lärare.Timothy's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Timothys mamma is Timothy's mum.
More names
Questions about Timothy
How do you pronounce Timothy in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Timothy in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Timothy mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Ancient Greek of biblical origin, also borne by early Christian saints. From Middle French Timothée, from Latin Tīmotheus, from Ancient Greek Τῑμόθεος (Tīmótheos), from τῑμάω (tīmáō, “to honour”) + θεός (theós, “god”).
How popular is Timothy in Sweden?
15 babies were named Timothy in 2022. In 2020, 1,214 people in Sweden had Timothy as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2002 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.