girls' name ★ peaked 2018

Thea

Meaning en (English) Gender Girl Rank 2025 #353 Trend ↓ Falling 17%

Shortened from Dorothea and Theodora, ultimately from Lua error in Module:etymology/templates at line 71: Language 'en (English)' does not match the L2 header…

Rank 2025
#353
among girls · ↓4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
867
named Thea · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,854
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2018
1,209 babies
All-time total
20,118
#1,065 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Thea popularity over time

20,118 babies have been named Thea since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 86 – 86 9 – #719
1890s 105 – 105 11 +22% #606
1900s 87 – 87 9 -17% #878
1910s 157 – 157 16 +80% #1,215
1920s 254 5 259 26 +65% #1,256
1930s 207 – 207 21 -20% #1,376
1940s 431 – 431 43 +108% #1,115
1950s 1,027 – 1,027 103 +138% #838
1960s 1,099 – 1,099 110 +7% #938
1970s 1,008 – 1,008 101 -8% #1,083
1980s 1,022 – 1,022 102 +1% #1,067
1990s 952 – 952 95 -7% #1,223
2000s 1,362 – 1,362 136 +43% #1,364
2010s 6,408 – 6,408 641 +370% #268
2020s (to 2025) 5,908 – 5,908 985 +54% #300

Where Thea is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 839 0.52 #364
2027 817 0.51 #377
2028 798 0.50 #389
2029 782 0.49 #398
2030 769 0.48 #405

Where Thea is most popular

Girls named Thea per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.596 per 1,000. Strongest in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Thea born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
North Dakota 40 3.04 +410%
South Dakota 42 2.94 +393%
Montana 31 2.29 +284%
Nebraska 76 2.11 +255%
Iowa 108 1.85 +210%
New Hampshire 32 1.73 +191%
West Virginia 45 1.72 +188%
Maine 24 1.55 +160%
Wisconsin 151 1.47 +146%
Idaho 49 1.46 +146%
Minnesota 156 1.45 +142%
Alaska 12 1.39 +134%
Utah 113 1.36 +128%
Kansas 78 1.35 +127%
Vermont 6 1.24 +108%
Hawaii 14 1.22 +105%
Oregon 71 1.09 +83%
Pennsylvania 256 1.08 +82%
Michigan 194 1.07 +79%
Missouri 127 1.05 +77%
Washington 148 1.02 +72%
Massachusetts 121 1.00 +68%
Ohio 230 0.969 +63%
Colorado 108 0.968 +62%
Indiana 134 0.954 +60%
Oklahoma 69 0.938 +57%
District of Columbia 11 0.928 +56%
Kentucky 76 0.889 +49%
Illinois 189 0.826 +38%
Virginia 138 0.810 +36%
Connecticut 46 0.791 +33%
Arkansas 41 0.776 +30%
New York 274 0.692 +16%
New Jersey 117 0.648 +9%
Maryland 65 0.613 ≈ national
Tennessee 88 0.555 -7%
North Carolina 125 0.549 -8%
Alabama 47 0.501 -16%
Florida 213 0.498 -17%
Louisiana 43 0.491 -18%
Nevada 22 0.474 -21%
Arizona 62 0.442 -26%
South Carolina 39 0.434 -27%
California 357 0.425 -29%
Georgia 93 0.409 -31%
Texas 232 0.288 -52%
New Mexico 7 0.288 -52%
Mississippi 6 0.128 -78%
Delaware – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Thea

Thea is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #353 in 2025 with 867 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 20,118 American babies have been named Thea. Its peak came in 2018, when 1,209 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Thea stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Thea?

The median living Thea is about 8 years old; half are between 4 and 31. An estimated 19 thousand people named Thea are alive in the United States today.

median 8 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Thea year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 867 #353 – –
2024 897 #349 – –
2023 974 #321 – –
2022 1,066 #300 – –
2021 1,033 #314 – –
2020 1,071 #303 – –
2019 1,142 #293 – –
2018 1,209 #273 – –
2017 1,193 #268 – –
2016 1,121 #291 – –
2015 688 #464 – –
2014 364 #771 – –
2013 213 #1,134 – –
2012 187 #1,283 – –
2011 146 #1,520 – –
2010 145 #1,544 – –
2009 161 #1,449 – –
2008 148 #1,560 – –
2007 132 #1,678 – –
2006 133 #1,613 – –
2005 130 #1,573 – –
2004 150 #1,396 – –
2003 149 #1,364 – –
2002 124 #1,532 – –
2001 124 #1,514 – –
2000 111 #1,600 – –
1995 67 #2,048 – –
1990 138 #1,223 – –
1985 81 #1,521 – –
1980 132 #1,076 – –
1975 94 #1,227 – –
1970 101 #1,153 – –
1965 119 #938 – –
1960 106 #1,046 – –
1955 135 #838 – –
1950 85 #996 – –
1945 32 #1,447 – –
1940 39 #1,183 – –
1935 22 #1,657 – –
1930 23 #1,701 – –
1925 19 #2,112 – –
1920 25 #1,702 – –
1915 17 #1,953 – –
1910 8 #1,913 – –
1905 6 #1,902 – –
1900 7 #1,713 – –
1895 26 #606 – –
1890 8 #1,087 – –
1885 9 #789 – –
1880 6 #827 – –

Famous people named Thea

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Thea von Harbou Thea von Harbou German author, film director, & actress (1888–1954) 19th century
  2. 2 Thea Beckman Thea Beckman Dutch author of children's books (1923–2004) Contemporary
  3. 3 Thea Garrett Thea Garrett Musical artist b. 1992 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Thea, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Thea?

The median living Thea is about 8 years old. Half of all living Theas are between 4 and 31 years old.

How many people named Thea are alive today?

An estimated 19 thousand people named Thea are alive in the United States, based on 20,118 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Thea mean?

Shortened from Dorothea and Theodora, ultimately from Lua error in Module:etymology/templates at line 71: Language 'en (English)' does not match the L2 header (Translingual)..

How popular is the name Thea in 2025?

Thea ranked #353 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 867 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Thea?

20,118 babies have been named Thea in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Thea most popular?

Thea peaked in 2018, when 1,209 newborns received the name.

Is Thea a boy or girl name?

Thea is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Thea rising or falling?

Thea is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Thea become more popular?

Thea is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 769 girls named Thea in 2030, which would rank around #405. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Thea?

Well-known people named Thea include Thea von Harbou (film director), Thea Beckman (writer), Thea Garrett (singer).

Names like Thea

Names that sound and feel close to Thea: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Thea with similar names → More names starting with T →