Theopolis
Of Greek derivation, meaning "city of God" or "divine city."
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the first name Theopolis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Theopolis today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Theopolis births was 1922 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Theopolis. 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.
People living today
149
~ 1 in 2,300,365 Americans
Peak year
1922
10 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1995 SSA rank
#10,184
Tracked since 1912
Census
Theopolis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 180 people with the first name Theopolis, which placed it at #41,022 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,022
National first-name rank
People counted
180
180 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Theopolis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Theopolis is Black at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and White (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Theopolis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Theopolis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.9% · 160
- Two or more races5.0% · 9
- White3.3% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Theopolis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Theopolis from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 56 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Theopolis 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 Theopolis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Theopolis
The name Theopolis originates from the Greek language and can be traced back to ancient times. It is a combination of two words – "theos," meaning "god," and "polis," meaning "city." Thus, the name Theopolis essentially translates to "city of God" or "divine city."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Theopolis is found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Strabo. He mentions a city called Theopolis, located in the region of Pontus, in what is now modern-day Turkey. This city was likely named after a local deity or as a reference to its religious significance.
In the Christian tradition, the name Theopolis may have been used as a symbolic reference to the heavenly city or the City of God, as described in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. However, there are no clear historical records of individuals bearing this name in early Christian texts.
The first known individual with the name Theopolis was Theopolis of Antioch, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. He was executed during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Decius. His feast day is celebrated on February 28th in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Another notable figure with the name Theopolis was Theopolis of Samosata, a 4th-century bishop and theologian. He played a significant role in the Arian controversy and defended the doctrine of the Trinity against the Arian heresy.
In the 9th century, there was a Byzantine scholar and author named Theopolis the Confessor. He wrote several works on theology and is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
During the Renaissance period, a Greek scholar and humanist named Theopolis Sikeliotes (1495-1555) gained recognition for his contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature and philosophy.
More recently, in the 19th century, there was an American clergyman and educator named Theopolis Nott (1773-1866), who served as the president of Union College in Schenectady, New York.
While the name Theopolis is not commonly used today, its rich historical background and connection to religious and intellectual traditions make it a unique and intriguing choice for those interested in names with deep cultural significance.
People
Theopolis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Theopolis 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
Theopolis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Theopolis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Theopolis 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 2,300,365 US residents.
Is Theopolis a common name?
We classify Theopolis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Theopolis most popular?
The single biggest year for Theopolis was 1922, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Theopolis is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Theopolis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 180 people with the name Theopolis, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,022 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Theopolis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Theopolis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Theopolis leans strongly male. 176 people counted with this name were male (96.7%), compared with 6 female bearers (3.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Theopolis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Theopolis is Black at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and White (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Theopolis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Theopolis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (160 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Theopolis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Theopolis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Theopolis 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.
Is Theopolis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Theopolis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Theopolis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Theopolis?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Theopolis, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.