Theo
Derived from the Greek name Theodoros, meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 29,344 living Americans carry the first name Theo. It sits at #80 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (90.1% of registrations). The average person named Theo today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Theo births was 2023 (4,179 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Moises (29,285).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Theo. 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
- • Theo is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
- • Theo is on the rise. The most recent decade saw more than double the registrations of the decade before it.
People living today
29K
~ 1 in 11,681 Americans
Peak year
2023
4,179 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#80
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Theo
Theo leans heavily male at 90.1% of total registrations, but 3,482 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Theo as a male name
- Ranked #80 in 2024
- 4,110 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (4,137 births)
Theo as a female name
- Ranked #4,537 in 2024
- 31 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1924 (111 births)
Popularity
Theo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Theo from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 17,045 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Theo 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 Theo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Theos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Theo, while Vermont, Wyoming, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 553 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Theo
Theo is a masculine given name with Greek origins, derived from the word "Theos" meaning "God." It has been a popular name throughout history, particularly in Christian cultures influenced by Greek and Latin traditions.
The name Theo can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was used as a shortened form of names like Theodore, meaning "gift of God." It was also sometimes used as a standalone name, reflecting the reverence for gods in Greek mythology.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Theo can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, where it is mentioned as the name of a Christian disciple from Ephesus. This early association with Christianity likely contributed to its widespread adoption throughout Europe.
During the Byzantine era, the name Theo gained popularity among the ruling classes and aristocracy of the Eastern Roman Empire. Several Byzantine emperors, such as Theophilos (813-842 AD) and Theophanu (960-976 AD), bore variations of the name, reflecting its prestigious status.
In the Middle Ages, the name Theo maintained its popularity across Europe, particularly in areas influenced by the Greek Orthodox Church, such as Russia and the Balkans. Notable individuals with this name include Theo the Samaritan, a 9th-century scholar and translator, and Theo de Smyrna, a 13th-century Greek astronomer and mathematician.
During the Renaissance period, the name Theo was embraced by humanist scholars and intellectuals who drew inspiration from classical Greek and Roman culture. One of the most famous individuals with this name was the Dutch philosopher and theologian Theo van Doesburgh (1533-1609), a prominent figure in the Reformation movement.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Theo gained traction in various European countries, including Germany, where it was popularized by the philosopher and writer Theo von Schön (1789-1856), and France, where the writer and politician Theo Fabre d'Olivet (1767-1825) made his mark.
Other notable individuals with the name Theo throughout history include the German composer Theo Richter (1824-1898), the Dutch painter Theo van Rysselberghe (1862-1926), and the Greek poet Theo Angelopoulos (1935-2012).
Overall, the name Theo has a rich history rooted in ancient Greek culture and Christianity, and it has been carried through the centuries by influential figures in various fields, ranging from religion and philosophy to art and literature.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Theo
People
Theo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Theo 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
Theo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Theo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29,344 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Theo 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 11,681 US residents.
Is Theo a common name?
We classify Theo as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 35,340 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Theo most popular?
The single biggest year for Theo was 2023, when 4,179 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Theo is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Theo a male name?
Yes, 90.1% of people registered as Theo in the SSA data are male. 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.