Girl's name
Thea
Say it THEE-uh
Greek origin goddess
2 syllables
Where Thea is loved, common and rare
Common across six German cities, Norway, France and five more places. Rare in Austria, Canada, Switzerland and five more places.
1 in 298 girls born in Scotland in 2025
Cologne 43rdBerlin 48thNorway 49th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 23 of the 40 official lists, among them Cologne (43rd), Berlin (48th) and Norway (49th).
Show all 23 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cologne city | 43rd 2023 | 25 | about 1 in 246 |
| Berlin city | 48th 2023 | 52 | about 1 in 279 |
| Norway | 49th 2025 | 127 | 1 in 172 |
| France as Théa | 51st 2025 | 870 | 1 in 330 |
| England and Wales | 66th 2025 | 686 | 1 in 369 |
| Scotland | 69th 2025 | 60 | 1 in 298 |
| Sweden | 77th 2025 | 128 | about 1 in 314 |
| Munich city | 80th 2025 | 17 | about 1 in 247 |
| New Zealand | 84th 2025 | 45 | rank only |
| Northern Ireland | 96th 2025 | 21 | 1 in 347 |
| Austria | 120th 2025 | 54 | 1 in 662 |
| Quebec province | 131st 2025 | 43 | about 1 in 605 |
| Switzerland | 147th 2025 | 68 | 1 in 500 |
| British Columbia province | 148th 2023 | 20 | about 1 in 598 |
| Ireland | 207th 2025 | 21 | 1 in 1,006 |
| Ontario province | 250th 2024 | 50 | about 1 in 1,089 |
| Italy | 395th 2024 | 35 | 1 in 5,119 |
| Israel תיאה | 446th 2024 | 24 | about 1 in 3,270 |
| Poland | 583rd 2025 | 3 | 1 in 39,929 |
| The Netherlands | 767th 2025 | 14 | about 1 in 4,358 |
| Leipzig city | 30th 2025 | 13 | about 1 in 202 |
| Rostock city | 46th 2025 | 4 | about 1 in 246 |
| Bonn city | 58th 2025 | 10 | about 1 in 302 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Spain, Catalonia, Hungary and Slovenia.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Israel publishes names in Hebrew script. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.
Sources: Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (Israel); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
A shortening of Dorothea and Theodora, Thea goes back to Ancient Greek θεά, 'goddess'.
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Two syllables, THEE-uh, give it a soft, simple sound, with the th said as in 'theme'. Théa is an accented spelling, and Tea is a variant.
Thea is used across a wide spread of countries, ranking in the middle of the lists in England and Wales, Scotland and New Zealand, and in Norway, France and Sweden. No single country dominates. The French records place its peak in 2016, and its trend is evenly balanced between rises and falls. It is increasingly chosen as a full name rather than only as a short form of the longer ones.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- THEE-uh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
goddess
- Origin
- Greek
- Other spellings
- Tea
Counted together here: Théa.
Etymology
Shortened from Dorothea and Theodora, ultimately from Ancient Greek θεά (theá, “goddess”).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 6 of 21 regions, falling in 5.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 49 | 53 | 59 | 46 | 57 | 53 | 64 | 63 | 66 | 66 |
| Scotland | 61 | 56 | 59 | 62 | 63 | 61 | 64 | 80 | 65 | 69 |
| Northern Ireland | 42 | 49 | 69 | 40 | 68 | 68 | 58 | 72 | 75 | 96 |
| Ireland | 187 | 189 | 218 | 221 | 246 | 136 | 168 | 168 | 191 | 207 |
| Ontario | 158 | 165 | 268 | 160 | 179 | 279 | 227 | 259 | 250 | |
| British Columbia | 120 | 121 | 117 | 170 | 248 | 176 | 286 | 148 | ||
| New South Wales | 91 | 78 | 90 | 95 | ||||||
| Queensland | 68 | 72 | 47 | 68 | 51 | 81 | 80 | 88 | ||
| South Australia | 96 | 150 | 81 | |||||||
| New Zealand | 49 | 36 | 37 | 31 | 39 | 47 | 57 | 68 | 71 | 84 |
| Quebec | 124 | 128 | 188 | 165 | 200 | 212 | 164 | 216 | 158 | 131 |
| France | 48 | 57 | 58 | 57 | 52 | 56 | 55 | 55 | 59 | 51 |
| The Netherlands | 833 | 767 | ||||||||
| Austria | 468 | 312 | 247 | 220 | 156 | 235 | 181 | 138 | 131 | 120 |
| Switzerland | 238 | 271 | 237 | 192 | 172 | 169 | 112 | 175 | 155 | 147 |
| Berlin | 179 | 75 | 75 | 109 | 84 | 94 | 94 | 48 | ||
| Munich | 160 | 97 | 79 | 52 | 68 | 96 | 76 | 59 | 80 | |
| Cologne | 110 | 82 | 82 | 103 | 36 | 68 | 26 | 43 | ||
| Bonn | 81 | 134 | 75 | 42 | 50 | 61 | 48 | 77 | 42 | 58 |
| Leipzig | 77 | 102 | 84 | 50 | 46 | 40 | 42 | 38 | 11 | 30 |
| Rostock | 58 | 51 | 27 | 53 | 90 | 30 | 21 | 47 | 49 | 46 |
| Norway | 11 | 10 | 21 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 35 | 36 | 40 | 49 |
| Sweden | 62 | 60 | 64 | 55 | 62 | 55 | 82 | 68 | 52 | 77 |
| Iceland | 230 | 104 | ||||||||
| Italy | 471 | 411 | 354 | 393 | 450 | 395 | ||||
| Poland | 426 | 567 | 574 | 507 | 520 | 616 | 766 | 612 | 523 | 583 |
| Israel | 696 | 610 | 1061 | 643 | 425 | 648 | 640 | 617 | 446 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 66 | 686 | 270.8 |
| 2024 | 66 | 686 | 265.9 |
| 2023 | 63 | 716 | 279.1 |
| 2022 | 64 | 768 | 291.4 |
| 2021 | 53 | 917 | 334.6 |
| 2020 | 57 | 858 | 319.7 |
| 2019 | 46 | 1,052 | 375.6 |
| 2018 | 59 | 920 | 319.1 |
| 2017 | 53 | 1,041 | 348.1 |
| 2016 | 49 | 1,132 | 368.6 |
| 2015 | 58 | 1,020 | 331.2 |
| 2014 | 79 | 678 | 221.1 |
| 2013 | 121 | 463 | 150.1 |
| 2012 | 225 | 222 | 68.9 |
| 2011 | 235 | 212 | 66.0 |
| 2010 | 256 | 197 | 61.4 |
| 2009 | 260 | 184 | 58.7 |
| 2008 | 241 | 206 | 65.2 |
| 2007 | 235 | 217 | 70.9 |
| 2006 | 239 | 196 | 65.5 |
| 2005 | 249 | 181 | 62.8 |
| 2004 | 256 | 170 | 59.5 |
| 2003 | 287 | 139 | 49.9 |
| 2002 | 291 | 125 | 46.8 |
| 2001 | 292 | 127 | 47.4 |
| 2000 | 282 | 136 | 49.8 |
| 1999 | 346 | 93 | 33.0 |
| 1998 | 336 | 103 | 35.6 |
| 1997 | 433 | 69 | 23.5 |
| 1996 | 470 | 60 | 20.3 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Thea in France since 1925 were born in or after 2018. First recorded in 1929. Her peak year there: 2016, at 379.6 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Thea per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2016 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Thea
1 in 488 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Thea.
1 in 1,025 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Thea.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Arya and Aria.
1 in 993 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Thea.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Maya.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Thea.
1 in 344 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Thea.
1 in 436 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Thea.
1 in 778 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Thea. Same first letter as Thea.
1 in 587 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Thea.
1 in 307 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Thea.
1 in 688 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Thea.
Middle names for Thea
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Thea Grace
2-1 beats · initials TG
Changes the beat after Thea: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Thea Olivia
2-4 beats · initials TO · Thea slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Thea: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Thea slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Thea Rose
2-1 beats · initials TR
Changes the beat after Thea: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Thea Emily
2-3 beats · initials TE · Thea slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Thea: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Thea slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Thea Julia
2-3 beats · initials TJ
Changes the beat after Thea: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Thea Miriam
2-3 beats · initials TM
Changes the beat after Thea: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Thea Charlotte
2-2 beats · initials TC
A close match on style, era and popularity. Same length as Thea: 2 syllables.
1 in 1,243 in Ireland
Thea Diana
2-3 beats · initials TD
Changes the beat after Thea: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Thea
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 132 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Thea across countries and decades.
1 in 189 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Thea across countries and decades.
1 in 993 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Thea across countries and decades.
1 in 344 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Thea across countries and decades.
1 in 109 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Thea across countries and decades.
1 in 606 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Thea across countries and decades.
1 in 358 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Thea across countries and decades.
1 in 202 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Thea across countries and decades.
Famous people named Thea
Thea von Harbou, Thea LaFond, Thea Garrett, Thea Louise Stjernesund, Thea Gill, Thea Beckman, Thea Sofie Loch Næss and Thea Musgrave.
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German screenwriter (1888–1954)
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Dominica triple jumper (born 1994)
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Singer born 1992
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Norwegian female alpine skier born 1996
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Canadian actress born 1970
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Dutch author of children's books (1923–2004)
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Norwegian actor born 1996
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Scottish composer born 1928
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Thea
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Thea?
Her best rank is No. 49 in Norway in 2025, about 1 in 172 girls. She is in the published lists of 23 of our 40 regions.
What does Thea mean?
Wiktionary glosses Thea as "goddess".
How do you pronounce Thea?
THEE-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Thea getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 6 of 21 regions, falling in 5.
Which sister names go with Thea?
The deck's top five sisters for Thea: Athena, Ariana, Maia, Anastasia and Eliana. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.