| Theo | Kyrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | gift of God | Lord |
| Origin | greek | greek |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Pronunciation | THEE-oh | ky-REE / KEER-ee |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1986 |
| Peak year | 2023 (4,140) | 2017 (1,780) |
| In 2025 | 3,945 | 1,416 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Theo | Kyrie |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 20,784 | 9,420 |
| 2010s | 8,189 | 8,793 |
| 2000s | 1,386 | 219 |
| 1990s | 600 | 162 |
| 1980s | 540 | 18 |
| 1970s | 386 | 0 |
| 1960s | 323 | 0 |
| 1950s | 371 | 0 |
| 1940s | 440 | 0 |
| 1930s | 680 | 0 |
| 1920s | 980 | 0 |
| 1910s | 714 | 0 |
| 1900s | 226 | 0 |
| 1890s | 118 | 0 |
| 1880s | 93 | 0 |
Short form of Theodore (or feminine Theodora), from Greek theos 'God' + doron 'gift'. Carries the 'gift of God' sense of the full name; on its own the element theos means 'God'.
From Greek 'kyrie', the vocative of 'kyrios' ('lord, master'), best known from the Christian liturgical prayer 'Kyrie eleison' ('Lord, have mercy'). Its modern popularity owes much to basketball player Kyrie Irving.
Theo is more popular than Kyrie today: about 3,945 US babies were given the name Theo in 2025, compared with 1,416 named Kyrie.
Theo means gift of God (greek origin), while Kyrie means Lord (greek origin).
In US records, Theo first appears in 1880 and Kyrie in 1986, so Theo has the longer recorded history.