Timofei
From the Greek Timotheos, "honoring god," it took the Orthodox road east and settled into Russian as Timofei, where its foreign spelling still marks a family with roots further east. Most Poles have never met one, and after a small rise the newborn count is slipping again.
Timofei Pronunciation
Timofei is pronounced tee-mo-FE-ee (/timɔˈfɛi/).
What Timofei means
Where Timofei comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name Timofei reaches back to the Greek Timotheos, a compound of timē, meaning honor, and theos, meaning god. Read plainly, it names someone who honors god, and that sense came into Polish as czczący boga.
The best documented early bearer is Timothy of the New Testament, the young companion of Paul who received the two epistles that still carry his name. Across the Orthodox east the Greek Timotheos hardened into the Russian Timofei, and it is in Russian registers that the form sits most naturally. There it belonged to peasants and to saints alike.
In a Polish class register today, Timofei often signals a family with roots further east. A teacher reads it and remembers. The spelling stays foreign, and so does the sound, but the meaning holds its plain arithmetic: honor given to god, czczący boga.
How many people are named Timofei
1 in 87484 men in Poland is named Timofei. 244 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1983 among male names.
Timofei's popularity over time
3 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #1373 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2017.
Where Timofei is most popular
Timofei is most popular in Lower Silesian, 358% above the national average (6 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Greater Poland (+235%) and Pomeranian (+63%).
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Lower Silesian6 boys born+358%
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Greater Poland6 boys born+235%
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Pomeranian2 boys born+63%
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Masovian4 boys born+36%