Theo is a
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
and a
hypocorism.
Greek origin
Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the
Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god,
for example:
*Feminine names:
Thea
Thea may refer to:
* Thea (name), a given name
* Ancient Greek term for goddess, including an alternative spelling of Theia
* ''Thea'', the former name of the tea plant genus, now included in ''Camellia''
* Thea, a village in the municipal unit Me ...
,
Theodora,
Theodosia,
Theophania,
Theophano and
Theoxena Theoxena may refer to:
* Theoxena of Syracuse (born before 317 BC; died after 289 BC), a Greek Macedonian noblewoman
* Theoxena of Egypt ( 4th/3rd century BC), a Syracusan princess, daughter of Theoxena of Syracuse
* Theoxena of Thessaly (fl. 3rd/2 ...
*Masculine names:
Theodore,
Theodoros/Theodorus,
Theodosius,
Theodotus,
Theophanes,
Theophilus,
Theodoret and
Theophylact
Germanic origin
Many other names beginning with "Theo-" do not necessarily derive from Greek, but rather the old Germanic "theud", meaning "people" or "folk".
[ These names include:
* Theobald, Theodahad, ]Theodard
:''Theodard was also the murdered bishop Theodard of Maastricht.''
Saint Theodard (french: Théodard) (ca. 840–1 May, ca. 893) was an archbishop of Narbonne. He may have been born to the nobility and served as a subdeacon at a church counc ...
, Theodebert Theudebert (also Theodobert, Theudibert, Theodebert, Theodbert, Dietbert, Tibert, etc.E. W. Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'', 18561168f./ref>) is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theo-'' "people" and ''bert'' "brig ...
, Theodemir, and Theodoric
People with the name Theo
See Theo and Théo for a current alphabetical list of all people with the first name Theo or Théo in the English Wikipedia.
Among better known people with this name are:
* Theo Adam (1926-2019), German classical bass-baritone
* Theo Albrecht (1922–2010), German entrepreneur and billionaire
* Theo Angelopoulos (1935–2012), Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer
* Theo Bos (born 1983), Dutch road and track cyclist, five-time world champion
* Theo van Doesburg (1883–1931), Dutch artist, founder and leader of the De Stijl art movement
* Theo Epstein (born 1973), American baseball executive, three-time World Series champion
* Theo Fleury
Theoren Wallace "Theo" Fleury (born June 29, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, author, and motivational speaker. Fleury played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks of the ...
(born 1968), Canadian ice hockey player
* Theo Geisel (1904–1991), American author better known as Dr. Seuss
* Theo van Gogh (art dealer) (1857–1891), brother and supporter of painter Vincent van Gogh
* Theo van Gogh (film director) (1957–2004), Dutch film director, great-grandson of the above
* Theo Heemskerk (1852–1932), Dutch Prime Minister
* Theo Hernandez (born 1997), French footballer
* Theo Hutchcraft (born 1986), English singer and songwriter
* Theo Jackson (disambiguation), multiple people
* Theo James (born 1984), English actor
* Theo Jansen (born 1948), Dutch artist and kinetic sculptor
* Theo Janssen (born 1981), Dutch footballer
* Theo Jörgensmann (born 1948), German jazz clarinetist and composer
* Théo Lefèvre (1914–1973), Belgian Prime Minister
* Theo Lingen (1903–1978), German actor, film director and screenwriter
* Theo Mackeben (1897–1953), German composer and conductor
* Theo Osterkamp (1892–1975), German flying ace in both World War I and World War II
* Theo Pelouze (1807–1867), French chemist
* Theo de Raadt (born 1968), South African-born Canadian founder and leader of the OpenBSD and OpenSSH projects
* Theo Ratliff (born 1973), American basketball player (Theophalus)
* Theo Rossi (born 1975), American actor and producer
* Théo van Rysselberghe (1862–1926), Belgian neo-impressionist painter
* Théo Sarapo (1936–1970), French singer and actor, husband of Édith Piaf
* Theo Smyrnaeus (fl. 100 CE), Greek philosopher and mathematician (Theon)
* Theo Sommer (1930–2022), German newspaper editor and intellectual
* Theo Timmer (born 1949), Dutch motorcycle racer
* Theo Timmermans (footballer born 1926), Dutch footballer
* Theo Timmermans (footballer, born 1989), Theo Timmermans (born 1989), Dutch footballer
* Theo Von (born 1980), American stand-up comedian, television personality, host, and actor
* Theo Waigel (born 1939), German politician, known as the father of the Euro
* Theo Walcott (born 1989), English footballer
* Theo Zagorakis (born 1971), Greek footballer and politician
Fictional characters
* Meta Runner#Main Characters, Theo, the self-proclaimed 'King of All the Land', protagonist of ''Ultra Jump Mania'' and Tari's first companion in the ''Meta Runner'' web series
* Theo Decker, main character in Donna Tartt's novel The Goldfinch (novel), ''The Goldfinch''
* Theo Faron, the main character in P.D. James's 1992 novel ''The Children of Men'' and of the 2006 film ''Children of Men'' based on the novel
* Theo Fobius, in the webcomic Schlock Mercenary#Main characters, ''Schlock Mercenary''
* Theo Kojak, lead character of the ''Kojak'' television series
* Theo Raeken, a fictional character in the 2011-2017 TV series ''Teen Wolf (2011 TV series), Teen Wolf''
* Theo Saville, one of the main characters on the television series ''A Million Little Things'', son of Eddie and Katherine
See also
* Teo (disambiguation)
* THEO (Testing the Habitability of Enceladus's Ocean), a spacecraft mission to Enceladus
References
{{given name
Masculine given names
Dutch masculine given names
Hypocorisms
English masculine given names