Unisex name ★ peaked 2023

Theo

Gender Unisex · 9% girls Rank 2025 #82 Trend ↑ Rising 118%

Short form of Theodore, or of the rare given names Theobald, Theophilus or Theodoric, or of Theodora.

Rank 2025
#82
among boys · ↓2 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,966
named Theo · -5% vs 2024
How common
1 in 433
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2023
4,182 babies
All-time total
39,333
#609 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Theo popularity over time

39,333 babies have been named Theo 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
0.751.52.25318801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 128 93 221 22 – #493
1890s 212 118 330 33 +49% #537
1900s 296 226 522 52 +58% #407
1910s 733 714 1,447 145 +177% #472
1920s 865 980 1,845 185 +28% #596
1930s 365 680 1,045 105 -43% #649
1940s 326 440 766 77 -27% #854
1950s 174 371 545 55 -29% #1,066
1960s 67 323 390 39 -28% #1,161
1970s 19 386 405 41 +4% #1,122
1980s – 540 540 54 +33% #1,006
1990s 5 600 605 61 +12% #1,382
2000s 5 1,386 1,391 139 +130% #1,012
2010s 56 8,189 8,245 825 +493% #195
2020s (to 2025) 252 20,784 21,036 3,506 +325% #78

Where Theo is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 4,496 2.63 #74
2027 5,025 2.94 #63
2028 5,523 3.23 #54
2029 5,984 3.50 #46
2030 6,407 3.75 #39

Where Theo is most popular

Boys named Theo per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.15 per 1,000. Strongest in Hawaii, North Dakota, and Massachusetts.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Theo 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Hawaii 90 5.80 +170%
North Dakota 89 5.21 +143%
Massachusetts 707 5.14 +139%
Maine 99 5.10 +137%
Rhode Island 80 4.91 +128%
District of Columbia 68 4.61 +114%
South Dakota 82 4.41 +105%
Connecticut 270 3.99 +86%
New Hampshire 88 3.96 +84%
Utah 378 3.96 +84%
Iowa 263 3.81 +78%
Delaware 57 3.76 +75%
Oregon 279 3.68 +71%
Nebraska 150 3.45 +61%
Wisconsin 403 3.40 +58%
Idaho 137 3.35 +56%
Minnesota 405 3.30 +54%
Montana 57 3.23 +50%
Colorado 412 3.19 +49%
Alaska 38 3.19 +48%
Washington 516 3.15 +47%
New Jersey 619 3.07 +43%
Vermont 19 3.03 +41%
Pennsylvania 794 2.99 +39%
Illinois 754 2.95 +37%
New York 1,232 2.85 +32%
Michigan 576 2.81 +31%
Indiana 444 2.77 +29%
Wyoming 16 2.77 +29%
Nevada 151 2.65 +23%
New Mexico 87 2.64 +23%
Kansas 177 2.58 +20%
Missouri 356 2.57 +20%
Ohio 677 2.55 +19%
West Virginia 83 2.54 +18%
Oklahoma 208 2.35 +9%
California 2,144 2.35 +9%
Florida 1,108 2.34 +9%
Virginia 413 2.18 ≈ national
Maryland 246 2.06 ≈ national
Kentucky 206 2.05 ≈ national
Arizona 334 2.04 -5%
North Carolina 517 2.02 -6%
South Carolina 190 1.84 -14%
Louisiana 176 1.72 -20%
Tennessee 308 1.71 -21%
Arkansas 106 1.68 -22%
Georgia 408 1.61 -25%
Texas 1,343 1.52 -29%
Alabama 115 1.05 -51%
Mississippi 57 1.00 -53%

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 Theo

Theo is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #82 in 2025 with 3,945 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 39,333 American babies have been named Theo, about 91% boys and 9% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2023, when 4,182 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Theo stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Theo?

The median living Theo is about 4 years old; half are between 2 and 8. An estimated 33 thousand people named Theo are alive in the United States today.

median 4 020406080100

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

Theo 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 21 #5,894 3,945 #82
2024 31 #4,554 4,129 #80
2023 42 #3,705 4,140 #78
2022 50 #3,276 3,642 #98
2021 64 #2,708 2,703 #142
2020 44 #3,493 2,225 #172
2019 31 #4,534 2,018 #195
2018 7 #13,679 1,554 #243
2017 7 #13,992 1,232 #290
2016 11 #10,057 952 #354
2015 – – 765 #406
2014 – – 550 #509
2013 – – 365 #663
2012 – – 287 #790
2011 – – 245 #863
2010 – – 221 #918
2009 – – 187 #1,033
2008 – – 188 #1,022
2007 – – 191 #1,012
2006 – – 156 #1,120
2005 – – 139 #1,154
2004 – – 133 #1,178
2003 – – 109 #1,295
2002 5 #17,892 98 #1,355
2001 – – 84 #1,471
2000 – – 101 #1,289
1995 – – 56 #1,646
1990 – – 66 #1,382
1985 – – 76 #1,063
1980 – – 36 #1,651
1975 6 #8,968 57 #1,124
1970 7 #7,003 28 #1,654
1965 – – 43 #1,161
1960 7 #5,653 42 #1,226
1955 23 #2,337 33 #1,337
1950 31 #1,713 41 #1,122
1945 53 #1,094 48 #941
1940 32 #1,345 38 #1,063
1935 39 #1,133 71 #729
1930 55 #1,000 90 #653
1925 102 #734 98 #644
1920 98 #731 97 #645
1915 98 #668 91 #604
1910 29 #810 35 #472
1905 34 #608 23 #475
1900 22 #798 14 #696
1895 25 #620 14 #577
1890 12 #820 12 #599
1885 11 #694 8 #759
1880 7 #730 9 #680

Famous people named Theo

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

  1. 1 Theo James Theo James British actor and producer (born 1984) Contemporary
  2. 2 Theo Rossi Theo Rossi American actor b. 1975 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Theo van Gogh Theo van Gogh Dutch art dealer (1857–1891) 19th century
  4. 4 Theo van Gogh Theo van Gogh Dutch film director (1957–2004) Contemporary
  5. 5 Theo Albrecht German businessman (1922–2010) Contemporary
  6. 6 Theo Ratliff Theo Ratliff American basketball player (born 1973) Contemporary
  7. 7 Theo Angelopoulos Theo Angelopoulos Greek film director, screenwriter and film producer (1935–2012) Contemporary
  8. 8 Theo Jansen Theo Jansen Dutch artist (born 1948) Contemporary
  9. 9 Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg Dutch artist (1883–1931) 19th century
  10. 10 Theo de Raadt Theo de Raadt Leader of the OpenBSD project (born 1968) Contemporary
  11. 11 Theo Jörgensmann Theo Jörgensmann German jazz clarinetist (1948–2025) Contemporary
  12. 12 Theo Snelders Dutch former professional footballer (born 1963) Contemporary
  13. 13 Theo Janssen Theo Janssen Dutch footballer (born 1981) Contemporary
  14. 14 Theo de Jong Theo de Jong Dutch footballer b. 1947 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Theo Waigel Theo Waigel German politician (born 1939) Contemporary
  16. 16 Theo Lingen Theo Lingen German actor (1903–1978) Contemporary
  17. 17 Theo Heemskerk Theo Heemskerk Dutch politician (1852–1932) 19th century
  18. 18 Theo Adam Theo Adam German opera singer (1926–2019) Contemporary
  19. 19 Theo Hernandez Theo Hernandez French footballer (born 1997) Contemporary
  20. 20 Theo Helfrich Theo Helfrich German racing driver (1913–1978) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Theo?

The median living Theo is about 4 years old. Half of all living Theos are between 2 and 8 years old.

How many people named Theo are alive today?

An estimated 33 thousand people named Theo are alive in the United States, based on 39,333 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Theo mean?

Short form of Theodore, or of the rare given names Theobald, Theophilus or Theodoric, or of Theodora.

How popular is the name Theo in 2025?

Theo ranked #82 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,945 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Theo?

39,333 babies have been named Theo in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Theo most popular?

Theo peaked in 2023, when 4,182 newborns received the name.

Is Theo a boy or girl name?

Theo is used for both: about 9% of babies named Theo have been girls and 91% boys.

Is the name Theo rising or falling?

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

Will Theo become more popular?

Theo is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 6,407 boys named Theo in 2030, which would rank around #39. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Theo?

Well-known people named Theo include Theo James (actor), Theo Rossi (actor), Theo van Gogh (painter).

Names like Theo

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

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