Theo

Theo is the long-beloved, short-form Greek, a trim syllable drawn from theos, god, that once lived almost entirely as a nickname tucked inside Theodore or Theodosius. Then parents noticed it stood beautifully on its own: warm, slightly bohemian, with the aftertaste of Van Gogh's devoted younger brother writing letters back to Vincent. In the United States it has surged over the last decade into the top 80 for boys, part of a broader preference for two- and three-letter boy names that feel both old and unfussy. It has the softness of corduroy and the quickness of a name called across a playground.