Theia
Feminine name of Greek origin meaning "heavenly" or "goddess of light".
Name Census estimates that about 1,110 living Americans carry the first name Theia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Theia today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Theia births was 2019 (113 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Theia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Theia is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 308,788 Americans
Peak year
2019
113 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,844
Tracked since 1967
Popularity
Theia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Theia from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 607 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Theia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Theia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Theia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Theias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Theia, while Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Theia
The name Theia has its origins in Greek mythology, deriving from the ancient Greek word 'theia', which translates to 'divine' or 'goddess'. It is the name of the Titan goddess of sight and the shining light of heaven. Theia was one of the twelve children of the primordial deities Ouranos (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth) in Greek cosmogony.
According to the ancient Greek poet Hesiod's Theogony, Theia was the mother of the Sun god Helios, the Moon goddess Selene, and the dawn goddess Eos by her brother and consort Hyperion. This genealogy highlights the connection between Theia and celestial bodies, symbolizing her role as the goddess of radiance and illumination.
The earliest recorded use of the name Theia can be traced back to ancient Greek literature, where she was a prominent figure in the pantheon of deities. Her name appears in various texts, including Hesiod's Theogony, Homer's Iliad, and Apollodorus' Bibliotheca, among others.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Theia. One of the earliest known was Theia of Lemnos (c. 640 BCE), an ancient Greek poet and philosopher who is credited with writing the earliest known examples of lyric poetry by a woman in ancient Greece.
Another prominent figure was Theia of Athens (c. 400 BCE), a renowned physician and midwife who made significant contributions to the field of obstetrics and gynecology in ancient Greece. She is said to have written several treatises on women's health and childbirth practices.
In the 5th century CE, Theia of Alexandria was a renowned scholar and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. She is recognized for her work on the calculation of the lunar cycle and her contributions to the development of the Julian calendar.
During the Renaissance period, Theia Renata of Ferrara (1511-1559) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She played a crucial role in the cultural and intellectual life of the Ferrara court, supporting numerous artists, writers, and philosophers of the time.
More recently, Theia Lingria (1902-1992) was a renowned Italian opera singer and actress who performed on stages across Europe and the United States in the early 20th century, renowned for her powerful soprano voice and dramatic performances.
People
Theia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Theia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Theia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Theia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,110 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Theia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 308,788 US residents.
Is Theia a common name?
We classify Theia as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,119 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Theia most popular?
The single biggest year for Theia was 2019, when 113 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Theia is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Theia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Theia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.