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🔥Theo

Diminutive of Theodore
"gift of God"
Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Fri Aug 15 2025

Theo Origin and Meaning

The name Theo is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "gift of God".

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.

# 80 in the US

Theo Rank in US Top 1000

# 117 on Nameberry

Theo Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Theo

20 Names Similar to Theo

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Theo.

Famous People Named Theo

  • 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

The name 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"

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