Theo

Where Theo comes from

Short form of Theodore, or of the rare given names Theobald, Theophilus or Theodoric, or of Theodora.
— Wiktionary's entry for Theo
  • Ancient Greek
  • From a nickname
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #640 among boys — 9 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1883
    Theo van Doesburg born
    Dutch architect, painter, draughtsman and writer
  3. 1946
    Mostly boys from here
    Until now more girls than boys got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  4. 1989
    Theo Walcott born
    English association football player
  5. 2023
    Peak, #78
    4,140 babies named Theo — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Ancient Greek and nickname.
  • A diminutive of the female given name Theodora.
Namesakes
  • Theo Walcott · English association football player, born 1989
  • Theo van Doesburg · Dutch architect, painter, draughtsman and writer, 1883–1931
  • Theo Jörgensmann · German musician, 1948–2025
  • Theo de Raadt · Leader of the OpenBSD project, born 1968
  • Theo Bongonda · DR Congolese footballer, born 1995

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.