Theo as a stand alone name?

lifeonthehill

Not a huge fan of Theodore and H actually said he likes just Theo. Can Theo work as a stand alone name in your eyes?

erinms

I think everyone will just assume it is short for Theodore anyways, so why don't you just go ahead and give him Theodore so he can use either name. Theo is great, but just short of professional IMO.

erinms

I think everyone will just assume it is short for Theodore anyways, so why don't you just go ahead and give him Theodore so he can use either name. Theo is great, but just short of professional IMO.

LNic5

I don't think there's anything wrong with Theo on it's own!! I like it and there's no point in giving him the full name if you don't like it. I say just go with Theo!!!

yeah.

My nephew is Theo. It seems to work out just fine.

JMU_Bride09

SS: I think that it could work, but at the same time, I'd always assume that it was a nn for Theodore.

ashiscute

I agree that people would assume he's a Theodore.  I love Theo though

LCparr

Theo is great all alone. Do you have a middle name picked out? 

Theo James

Theo Matthew

Theo Rodrick 

Theo Benjamin 

Theo Julian

lifeonthehill

LCparr said:

Theo is great all alone. Do you have a middle name picked out? 

Theo James

Theo Matthew

Theo Rodrick 

Theo Benjamin 

Theo Julian

Either
Theo Adam
Theo Justin
Theo Roland

All family names

catwine

I think it's fine.  I have friends whose legal FN is usually a NN (Kate, Jennie, Jessie, Sam).

CMSAV

bromios said:

Unlike Leo (which is actually a whole word in its own right), Theo is a form that would only appear in a compound word, so I have a hard time getting behind it as a full name. 

This. Though in theory I like the idea of Theo as a stand alone. What about Theophilus? Probably a bit too zany, haha

queenbone

bromios said:

Unlike Leo (which is actually a whole word in its own right), Theo is a form that would only appear in a compound word, so I have a hard time getting behind it as a full name. 

Theodore means Divine gift or gift of God, so w/o the -dore it is kind of like you are just naming your kid 'God', right, @bromios?

caramia582

We used Drew as a stand alone name... I'm actually surprised how rarely people assume it's short for Andrew.  I think Theo is awesome, I say go for it!

lifeonthehill

@bromios

according to BTN Thea and Theo are both listed as short forms of other names. Does that not validate Theo as a full name in anyway for you?

easilyconfused

I would do Theodore, or pick something else! Theodore is so lovely, I can't imagine going with 'just' Theo.

JaneArson

Theodore nn Theo is my first choice boy name for my baby due in December.  Like you, I don't love the sound Theodore, but I think the nickname is so so great that we're using it (and Theodore is a family name too which is nice).  No one will ever call him Theodore anyway, but I want to have the full fancy name for his resume, diploma, etc.  

queenbone

bromios said:

The Greek would be theos and when it gets compounded with other words (like the word doron, "gift") the terminal sigma drops and then the word gets a gendered ending (and then language interaction happens). But just "theo" isn't a complete word. If one wanted (for some reason) the masculine equivalent of the name Thea, it would be Theos. Also, although the word does get used in biblical contexts, theos was being used to describe pagan gods for centuries before anyone wrote/translated biblical texts in Greek, so it's not necessarily God with a capital G. 

And I debated whether or not to use the capital G in this case, darn it! I guess I lose.

Irishcurls

I love Theo and don't love Theodore, but personally am a huge "options" person so it wouldn't work for me. Whatever you do, please don't name him Theo James, because while he's hot, it's just odd.