Theo for a girl?

[HallieHufflepuff]

Hello Mumsnet,

DH& I are TTC and we really like the name Theo for a girl or a boy.
Also thinking Theodore or Theodora on the birth certificate but would mostly refer to them as Theo.

Haven't told anyone that we are TTC, nevermind our baby name thoughts. I am just wondering what people's thoughts are on our name?

*It’s a latin name’s ending and the ‘o’ is there to indicate male, that’s literally what the ‘o’ is there for.

Honestly if I met a girl called Theo I’d think her parents were idiots.*

OMG THIS. I have a traditional English girls name of just 3 letters, people still spell it wrong. It bugs me so much that people get it wrong.

Also, I'm a teacher and I do think that parents who set their kids up with unusual/quirky/out there names are idiots. We all do.

Finally, of course folk assume/assign a name to a sex (or is it the other way round?). Don't be so try-hard woke that you set your kid up for life with a name they're going to have to explain over and over and over again.

Theo for a boy, Thea for a girl. It's literally in the 'rules' of the language the name is derived from. See also Franco/Frankie etc.

When I hear Theo for a girl I think of Theo from The Haunting Of Hill House. Not strange at all. It’s literally spelt TheOdora with an ‘o’ so why not Theo for short? Hardly worth calling someone an idiot for. I don’t think many people are going to pull her up on the Latin grammar throughout her life.

Theodora is Greek, not Latin. The Greek for God is Theos and for Goddess is Thea.

OP, just to clarify, you said on page one that Thea meant gift of god, but actually Theos is god and doro means gift. Theodora or Dorothy both mean gift of god

My h has an aunty Theo and always thought it was weird.

I like it. Plenty of women called Alex, Charlie etc. I think Theo makes a very cool standalone name for a woman. People will assume she’s male over email and take her more seriously.

You could also have Thiea if you didn't want to shorten it?

I know a beautiful little Thiea....

The name Theia is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "goddess, godly". Theia is the Titan of sight and the shining light of the clear blue sky. ... The name is more familiar in its Anglicized version, Thea.

Obviously, make sure you don't spell it wrong like me

Theo short for Theodora is gorgeous I think

These days I would assume a girl Called Theo was a transboy, so even if I met them I would still wonder if I had to use male pronouns which could be really confusing for them. ( and agree with the idiot thing -sorry)

Nope, Theo is a boy's name. Thea is much nicer for a girl.

I don’t dislike Theo I just know so many, and so many Teddys and Theodores. It’s a really popular boys’ name at the moment.

I actually quite like it for a girl and I love
Theodora. My youngest is Cleo and her middle name is Dorothy and sometimes when I’m ‘middle naming her’ (see Phoebe on Friends) I call her ‘Cleodora!’ 😄

I have a male nickname from a longer female name and people have assumed I’m a man just when they’ve heard me mentioned (usually in the office setting) it has never been a problem, when we’ve met it’s usually a bit of a little ice breaker and I’ve received lots of nice comments over it in my lifetime. I’ve had one negative comment from a stranger who said “why would you do something so ugly to such a pretty name?” 🙄

What always saddens me is seeing teachers comment on the name threads saying they judge parents for their name choices. Such a bullying mentality from those supposed to protect our kids from that behaviour.

Theo, for a boy, is overdone to the point of being a bit dull. If you love it, use it, but I do think that it should be Theodore on the birth certificate. Seems a bit... weak, if just Theo.

Theodora is a gorgeous name for a girl, and Theo is a tolerable nickname. It makes sense, as it is TheOdora, and not TheAdora. I don´t see why everyone is making such a fuss and saying it should be Thea! I know many Charlottes who are known as Charlie, and one Winifred known as Freddie. It´s only a nickname. As a nickname, Theo is fine for a girl, but I DEFINITELY wouldn´t give a little girl Theo as her full name.

Personally I think Theodora, with the nickname Theo, is miles better than Thea as a full name, which I find a bit dull and overdone too.

"What always saddens me is seeing teachers comment on the name threads saying they judge parents for their name choices. Such a bullying mentality from those supposed to protect our kids from that behaviour."

To form a personal opinion based on experience is natural, not bullying. Anyone who says they don´t do this is a liar.

Theo/Teo is the Romanian nickname for Teodora , so it definitely works in some countries :)

I love Theo for a girl - it's short for Theodora. The ballet teacher in Ballet Shoes is a woman called Theo. But I like some boys names for girls (Tommy for Thomasina for a girl is one of my favourites).

I LOVE Theodora and nn Theo. Have you seen Haunting of Hill House? There's a character on there with the name and Theo nickname. She's beautiful!

I have it on our list, struggling to win the other half over to it but I think it's absolutely gorgeous!

Go for it, we're in 2021, I really don't think people will be phased, let alone the children with the names. Names have changed so much now, society is far less judgemental (for the better!) and we are moving far more towards gender neutral names

I know a little one called Theodora, nicknamed Theo. Her parents are not idiots in fact they are both university lecturers. I agree with @purrbox about the Greek roots.

If she wants a more feminine nickname in the future she can always go with Thea or Dora or even Teddie. But I think Theo is actually pretty cool on a little girl.

I also knew a female Theo at work once. People did used to assume she was male until they met her but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I think she was German or from a German speaking country where perhaps it's a more common nickname.

Is OP just going to ignore @tarheelbaby’s thoughtful and detailed post about her own lived experience with this name?

@nopenotplaying

You could also have Thiea if you didn't want to shorten it?

I know a beautiful little Thiea....

The name Theia is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "goddess, godly". Theia is the Titan of sight and the shining light of the clear blue sky. ... The name is more familiar in its Anglicized version, Thea.

Theia can also mean Aunt in greek...

I wish people who don't understand the language or have any greek connections would leave greek names alone.

OP, I have never ever met a greek woman/girl named Theo. They either use Theodora or Dora. Theos/Theo as a previous poster explained means God. Even men/boys named Theodoros or Theodores don't shorten it. If they did it would be like they were introducing themselves as God.
Of course the way english speaking people pronounce Theo is different than the pronunciation of the greek word for God, still english speaking pronunciation is close to the word Theios which means uncle. Every time I hear the name Theo I normally think that they were named 'uncle' by their parents.

Theo is a boy's name

@spookysoul Thank you for defending me against those calling me an idiot!! Haha. And I agree, TheOdora, that's why I thought it made sense.

@PurrBox Thank you for explaining the meanings of the names :)

@Queenoftheashes Yes, Thank you. Do people call the parents of Alex and Charlie idiots?

@nopenotplaying Hehee

@hazandduck I thought that when a pp said that they are a teacher and they think I'm an idiot for considering this nickname. I really hope my child doesn't go to a school where the teachers are bullies.

@MadameGazellee I think I did say that it would be Theodore or Theodora, apologies if I didn't. I would put the whole name on the birth certificate and then refer to them as Theo.

@BFFfffff Yes I've seen Haunting of Hill House! that's one of the thinks that made me think that maybe this nickname is ok for a baby girl. I loved that show. Thank you! I did think that too. In 2021, society should be more accepting of neutral names, but then some comments on this thread have made me wonder if I thought wrong

@89redballoons I did already consider that she might choose Dora instead. Those other nicknames that you mentioned are lovely!

@ZoyaTheDestroyer Sorry! I've had a busy week and only just managed to come back on here.

@tarheelbaby Thank you for sharing your experience!

@TheCreamCaker Theo is name that can be for any gender.

I like it. I actually like traditionally boys/ unisex names on girls. Thea is nice too

That's evil sorry x

Theo short for Theodora is lovely.