[name_m]Hi[/name_m] berries!
Looking for a boy name that works in Spain and USA. Wanted to know if [name_m]Teo[/name_m], pronounced “[name_u]TAY[/name_u]-oh” would be easy and intuitive for people to pronounce? Would be a brother to [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] and [name_m]Simon[/name_m]. We’ve had no trouble with their names and we like simple, international, gentle names.
[name_m]Levi[/name_m] or [name_m]Abel[/name_m] could be other options…
Open to other ideas too
[name_m]Teo[/name_m] is cute, however my immediate thought was that it was pronounced like [name_m]Leo[/name_m] with a T in front of it. [name_m]Levi[/name_m] is my top pick of yours and looks cute with [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] and [name_m]Simon[/name_m].
I would really like to avoid TEE-oh pronunciation because it means uncle in Spanish. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think Americans could get on board with the [name_u]TAY[/name_u]-oh pronunciation or would it be too much of an uphill hike? I thought of calling him [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] to get the [name_m]Teo[/name_m] pronunciation but I doubt people will shorten the name to [name_m]Teo[/name_m] which I like way more than [name_m]Mateo[/name_m]
I actually know someone named [name_m]Mateo[/name_m], but everyone calls him [name_m]Teo[/name_m]. It’s a pretty easy name to pronounce in my experience and isn’t a challenge at all for the people that know him.
Agreed with zoe. [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] is familiar enough that [name_m]Teo[/name_m] will make sense after one explanation.
agreed with previous posters. A lot of people would say Tee-o first. However i have seen [name_m]Teo[/name_m] used a couple of times and it’s always been pronounced [name_u]Tay[/name_u]-o. i think the United States is becoming more international. I quick gentle correction will help people. I love [name_m]Teo[/name_m] by the way
Another vote for [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] “[name_m]Teo[/name_m]”, though I also love [name_m]Abel[/name_m].
I’d personally pronounce [name_m]Teo[/name_m] as either teh-o or tay-o, not tee-o.
I love [name_m]Teo[/name_m] and [name_m]Mateo[/name_m]! I think you will have people who say Tee-o at first but tay-o is really easy to say so once you correct them there shouldn’t be any problems.
Thanks for all the insightful replies!!
Loving the [name_m]Matteo[/name_m] nn [name_m]Teo[/name_m] suggestion! [name_m]Teo[/name_m] is adorable and although more unusual, it still works with [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] and [name_m]Simon[/name_m].
I came into this thread not realizing that the title was a typo, and I was all ready to be like, “I’m all for unusual names, but please don’t name your kid Two,” hahaha.
While I like it, I don’t think Tao goes with your other boys names. I love [name_m]Levi[/name_m] or [name_m]Abel[/name_m].
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m], [name_m]Simon[/name_m] &
[name_u]Aidan[/name_u]
[name_m]Benjamin[/name_m]
[name_m]Donald[/name_m]
[name_m]Edward[/name_m]
[name_u]Elias[/name_u]
[name_m]Felix[/name_m]
[name_m]Gabriel[/name_m]
[name_m]Jonah[/name_m]
[name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m]
[name_m]Phillip[/name_m]
[name_m]Thomas[/name_m]
After reading your first post I immediately thought “Mateo.” I think you will have serious difficulty getting most English speakers to say “Tay-oh” otherwise. However I noticed you said you prefer Tao over Mateo so I would make sure you are okay with Mateo first, as many but not all people will go with your suggested nickname of Tao. Others will call him Mateo no matter what. Good luck 
p.s. If I saw [name_m]Teo[/name_m] I would pronounce it “[name_f]Tea[/name_f]-oh” (like [name_m]Leo[/name_m]) and if I saw Tao I would pronounce it “Taow-oh” like the Tao Te Ching.
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m], [name_m]Simon[/name_m] and [name_m]Abel[/name_m]!!!
I totally get [name_m]Teo[/name_m] but then I’m not a native English speaker…still think it could work. [name_f]Lovely[/name_f] name!
I think my first guess would be [name_u]Tay[/name_u]-oh if I was reading off his name. I probably would ask though. I think it’s a sweet name!
I pronounced it [name_u]Tay[/name_u]-o in my head when I first saw it, probably because of NFL players Manti [name_m]Teo[/name_m] and [name_m]Daniel[/name_m] [name_m]Teo[/name_m]-Neshiem.
There’s also a professional baseball player Teoscar (pronounced [name_u]Tay[/name_u]-oscar) [name_m]Hernandez[/name_m], if you’re looking for an alternative to [name_m]Mateo[/name_m].
I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_m]Teo[/name_m]. I would use [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] or [name_m]Teodoro[/name_m] and use [name_m]Teo[/name_m] as a nickname in a heartbeat if I could get OH on board.
[name_m]Teo[/name_m] seems like a departure from the other two. I’d say [name_m]Levi[/name_m] is the best of the three.
I also read [name_m]Teo[/name_m] as “tee-oh”, and I think many people will. It should only take one or two corrections, but you will probably need to correct a lot of people. [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] nn [name_m]Teo[/name_m] might be more intuitive, as [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] is more common. “His name is [name_m]Teo[/name_m], short for [name_m]Mateo[/name_m]” is easy to understand.