Thea

What Thea means

Means “goddess”

Shortened from Dorothea and Theodora, ultimately from Ancient Greek θεά (theá, “goddess”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Thea” (revision 93487680), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Thea?

US: Rising: up from #463 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #58 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2018, when 1,209 girls got the name (#273 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,854 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 369 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 298 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (2.97 per 1,000 girls), NE (2.54 per 1,000 girls), ME (2.25 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Thea is #353 in the US and #66 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Thea were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Theia97 US · 48 E&W
• Theo21 US
• Thia8 US · 4 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Thea

Girls

• Ophelia#264possibly “help, aid, succour”^*
• Iris#61“rainbow”^*
• Athena#109Editor’s note Up from #157 in 2015 to #109 in 2025 in the US
• Elena#42Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #106 in 2015, #42 in 2025. 5 letters, starting with a vowel
• Anastasia#163“resurrection”^*
• Lena#279“the Large River”^*

For a brother

• Theodore#4Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #99 in 2015, #4 in 2025
• Leon#138“lion”^*
• Niko#325Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1962, with 5 babies
• Ambrose#735“immortal, divine”^*
• Evander#698“good man”^*
• Adonis#241Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #698 in 2015, #241 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Greek, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Thea’s. Rank is US 2025.