Timothy comes from the Greek Timotheos and means "honoring God" or "honored by God". Timothy was the young companion of the apostle Paul and the recipient of two New Testament letters, which kept the name in use across the Christian world. Timothy was number 58 among US boys' names in 2000 and still ranked number 147 in 2015; it has slowly given way to shorter names and stands at number 203 in 2025.