How rare is the name Theo?

15,942 people in the United States have the first name Theo, about 1 in 18,946. It ranks #1,829 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

THEO

#1,829

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
15,942
About
1 in 18,946
This common or more
77.2%
Who bears it

Of the 15,942 people named Theo, 63.1% reported their origin as White, 11.6% as Black and 10.8% as Hispanic or Latino. 94.2% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Theo peaked in 2023, when 4,182 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2023
Births that year
4,182
In 2025*
3,966 ▼5%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 39,333 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Theo by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #172. The largest share of babies named Theo, 72.5%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#801221
1890s#798330
1900s#738522
1910s#8671,447
1920s#9421,845
1930s#1,2051,045
1940s#1,613766
1950s#2,296545
1960s#2,991390
1970s#3,370405
1980s#3,248540
1990s#3,766605
2000s#2,6421,391
2010s#7638,245
2020s#17221,036
Before 19011.5%
Greatest Generation 1901–278.8%
Silent Generation 1928–454.6%
Baby boom 1946–642.7%
Generation X 1965–801.5%
Millennials 1981–962.3%
Generation Z 1997–126%
2013 and later72.5%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Theo is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Theo has been most common in Utah (2.4×), Nevada (2.1×), and Washington (1.7×), and least common in West Virginia (0.36×).

32,183 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Theo

#1,827 Kellen · 15,967#1,828 Jayme · 15,960#1,830 Elle · 15,938#1,831 Kyleigh · 15,936

Spelled almost the same

4 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Theo, most common first.

#2,037 Thea · 13,402#2,197 Thao · 11,993#5,419 The · 3,178#5,421 Tho · 3,176

Also a last name

As a last name, Theo ranks #84,529 of 156,621, with 239 people. See Theo as a last name

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