Baby name meaning

Theo

Gift of God · French pet form of Théodore origin

Meaning & origin

Theo is a male name of French pet form of Théodore origin, meaning “Gift of God”.

How popular is Theo?

In England & Wales, Theo ranked #12 among boys' names in 2024, with 2,387 babies given the name — up from #37 in 2014. Its strongest year in the England & Wales series is 2022, when it reached #9.

In the United States, Theo was the #172 boys' name in the 2020 data — its best showing in the US series, which samples one year per decade from 1880.

Theo is a sharply British choice: #12 in England & Wales against #172 in the US.

Theo — popularity rank over timePopularity rank of the boys' name Theo over time, lower rank number = more popular. England and Wales annual rank 1996 to 2024. United States rank sampled one year per decade, 1950 to 2020.#1#10#100#1,000#10,00019501960197019801990200020102024US 1950: #1,122US 1960: #1,226US 1970: #1,654US 1980: #1,651US 1990: #1,382US 2000: #1,289US 2010: #918US 2020: #172England & Wales 2024: #12United StatesEngland & Wales
Theo’s popularity rank over time — England & Wales annual rank (solid) and United States rank sampled once per decade (dashed), #1 at the top. Log scale: each gridline is 10× the rank above it.
Theo in England & Wales: rank and births in sampled years, plus its peak year. Source: ONS ‘Baby names in England and Wales’.
YearE&W rankBirths
1996#244120
2000#157232
2005#118467
2010#501,478
2015#332,103
2020#172,598
2022#92,808
2024#122,387

Famous Theos

Names that go well with Theo

Leo Lucas Mila

More on Theo

A French pet form that stopped being a nickname and became a top-twenty name across four continents.

Theo: the short form that outgrew its long name — Theo as our Name of the Day.

Swipe & match on Theo in Settle