Theo
Top 1000
About Theo
See the popularity graph below for the name Theo? It's been heading straight uphill since 2010, when it hopped back onto the Top 1000 after a 60+ year absence.
Now in the Top 100 in this form, Theo's popularity is even wider given its common use as a nickname for Theodore, which made the Top 10 for the first time in 2022. This might be the generation of Theos.
Theo's newfound popularity extends far beyond the US and the rest of the English-speaking world. It's currently a Top 100 name in Germany, Brazil, Scandinavia, and beyond, as well as being a popular choice for pets.
Theo first made an impact as the name of the only son on "The Cosby Show," earlier it was associated with Vincent van Gogh's supportive brother Theo.
Pronounced THEE-oh.
As of October 2026, Theo ranked #82 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #78 in 2023, Nameberry popularity #88.
Editor's take: The name Theo is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #509 | 550 | 286.3 |
| 2015 | #406 | 765 | 399.1 |
| 2016 | #354 | 952 | 501.6 |
| 2017 | #290 | 1,232 | 665.6 |
| 2018 | #243 | 1,554 | 855.7 |
| 2019 | #195 | 2,018 | 1,124.7 |
| 2020 | #172 | 2,225 | 1,289.1 |
| 2021 | #142 | 2,703 | 1,545 |
| 2022 | #98 | 3,639 | 2,084.2 |
| 2023 | #78 | 4,137 | 2,418.5 |
| 2024 | #80 | 4,110 | 2,385.5 |
| 2025 | #82 | 3,945 | 2,309.6 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Theo.
Theo on lists
Famous Theos
- Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh
Dutch art dealer; brother of Vincent van Gogh
- John Theodore "Theo" Rossi
American actor
- Theo James (born Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis)
English actor
- Theo Nathaniel Epstein
American baseball team president
- Theoren Wallace "Theo" Fleury
Canadian ice hockey player
- Theo Bos
Dutch cyclist
- Theo David Hutchcraft
English singer of duo Hurts
- Theophalus Curtis "Theo" Ratliff
American professional basketball player
- Theo Vonkurnatowski aka Theo Von
actor and reality TV personality
- Theo James Walcott
English footballer
- Theo Sarapo
French actor and singer
- Theo Dahl
son of author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal
- Theo Ellis
English musician of band Wolf Alice; son of actors Christine Kavanagh and Jack Ellis
- Theo Horan
nephew of singer Niall Horan
- Theo Darby
son of actor Rhys Darby
- Theo Marven (b. 2002)
son of TV presenter Nigel Marven
- Theo Hall (b. 2010)
son of TV chef Ilan Hall
- Theo Payne (b. 2012)
son of singer Dougie Payne of Travis and actress Kelly MacDonald
- Theo Scholles Lima (b. 2014)
son of singer Sandy and Lucas Scholles Lima
- Theo Nathanson (b. 2016)
son of model Nicole Linkletter and Adam Nathanson
- Theodore James "Theo" Kushner (b. 2016)
son of businesswoman/TV personality Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner
- Theo Ledin
Swedish DJ, son of rock musician Tomas Ledin and music publisher Marie Anderson
Theo in pop culture
- Theodore "Theo" Huxtable
character on TV's "The Cosby Show"
- Theodore "Theo" Kojak
character on TV's "Kojak"
- Theo Faron
main character in the film Children of Men
- Theo Decker
main character in "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt
- Theo Sipowicz
character on TV's "NYPD BLUE"
- Theo Raeken
character on Teen Wolf
- Theo
main character in Bernardo Bertolucci film "The Dreamers"
- Theo Putnam
character in the Netflix original "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"