[name_f]My[/name_f] fiance and I have the hardest time with girls names, so we are now looking to our boy list for inspiration.
Is [name_u]Theo[/name_u] usable for a girl…we don’t like [name_f]Thea[/name_f], nor any long feminine form of [name_u]Theo[/name_u].
I know that [name_u]Theo[/name_u] used to be a popular girls nickname name…is to too ‘boy’ now? We do not care about gender conformity or anything like that, more asking whether people would find it odd?
I would assume it is nn for [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] or something. I wonder if she would get tired of explaining that it’s not a nn, it’s her real name, her parents didn’t like any other names, blah blah. So I think it is weird enough that she would be asked about it more frequently, and more tiresomely, than is fair to her.
I agree with this. You’ve got to think of the child first.
I honestly think it would be fine- I quite like it actually. Kids these days have such a diverse range of names, and [name_u]Theo[/name_u] would definitely be considered ‘cool’ by the vast majority of kids. I don’t think it is too boy, and every girl I’ve known with a typically ‘boy’ name ([name_u]Domino[/name_u], [name_u]Alfie[/name_u], [name_u]Bo[/name_u], [name_m]Monty[/name_m], [name_u]Toby[/name_u], [name_u]Max[/name_u], [name_m]Milo[/name_m], etc.) or nn name has gotten along just fine (everyone seemed to love their names)- they never really had any questions, never really got asked if it was short for anything,etc.
I think you should go for either [name_f]Thea[/name_f] or [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] with the nickname [name_u]Theo[/name_u].
[name_u]Theo[/name_u] is a completely boy name.
I wouldn’t use it for a girl - it seems in the same category as females like [name_u]Glenn[/name_u] Close and [name_u]Michael[/name_u] Learned. I think I would assume that the parents really wanted a boy instead of a girl and, therefore chose a boys name. Since there is a lovely female alternative ([name_f]Thea[/name_f]), I think I would be more likely to think they were disappointed in having a daughter.
Is it the o ending on the name that you really like? More traditionally female options that end in o include:
[name_f]Margo[/name_f], [name_f]Marlo[/name_f], [name_f]Juno[/name_f], [name_f]Cleo[/name_f], [name_f]Willow[/name_f]
Nothing wrong with [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] etc nicknamed [name_u]Theo[/name_u] or any other name with the ‘the’ sound in it, like [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f]. [name_u]Theo[/name_u] by itself is a boys name.
Very masculine, and getting trendier for boys, I think she’d get tired of saying that she isn’t a boy and she might get written down as male on forms and things by people she doesn’t know. I understand that some “boy names” are unisex but [name_u]Theo[/name_u] is not one, and I would definitely assume it was a nickname for [name_f]Theodora[/name_f]. I like [name_f]Thea[/name_f] though.
Sorry, I don’t think this name has any flexibility. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if it somehow used to be a girl’s name, it’s completely a boy’s name now. In my opinion, it would be like naming a girl [name_m]Daniel[/name_m]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] way too confusing and not fair to the child.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you like unisex names best? We could probably help you come up with some.
I would hesitate with this one, just because [name_u]Theo/name_u is becoming so very popular. So for me, it’s not as much that you’re using a traditionally ‘boy’ name on a girl, but your girl [name_u]Theo[/name_u] will meet boy Theos all the time. Choose something a bit less used, so at least she might be the only ___ around.
Yeah I don’t think it works, sorry. 
I’ve been thinking about this today and I may have changed my mind. I was considering [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] and how I don’t have a problem with girls called [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] because it can be short for [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], even if it isn’t on paper.
[name_u]Theo[/name_u] technically works the same as it could be short for [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] as well as [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]. So, I think I was a little hasty with my decision.
It’s unorthodox, and it brings nicknames-as-first-names into question again (I’m not really a fan of those) but if there can be female [name_u]Chris[/name_u]’ (e.g [name_f]Christine[/name_f]) and [name_u]Danny[/name_u]'s (e.g [name_f]Danielle[/name_f]) then why not [name_u]Theo[/name_u]?
You “don’t care about gender conformity” but ask if the name [name_u]Theo[/name_u] is too boy? Well considering it’s my son’s name I’d say yes. Why not name her [name_m]William[/name_m] or [name_m]George[/name_m] or [name_u]Michael[/name_u] then? Or even better, [name_m]Richard[/name_m]! That has the really cute nickname of [name_m]Dick[/name_m]! Or are you saying that my son’s name is too feminine for a boy? Is it too boy now? [name_m]How[/name_m] about the past hundred years or so? Certainly it’s usable for a girl, people have been doing it for a long time but that doesn’t make it a girl’s name.
Your daughter would likely grow to be an accomplished, functional adult w/the name [name_u]Theo[/name_u], but [name_f]Thea[/name_f] would be less burdensome, and it’s lovely.
[name_u]Theo[/name_u] is completely masculine to me, just as a boys name by itself or as a nn for [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]. I’d find it odd totally, yes.
I agree with this - normally I wouldn’t like the idea of [name_u]Theo[/name_u] on a girl, but I know a girl who is just [name_u]Chris[/name_u], and she gets on just fine. I think it could work.
[name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_f]Thea[/name_f] instead?
I don’t see a problem with [name_u]Theo[/name_u] on a girl. I meet plenty of girls and boys with short, unisex names that are not their nicknames. [name_f]My[/name_f] own daughter has one and while several nameberry members have told me that they would confuse her for a boy based on her name, that has never ever happened in real life. I’m not even sure how that could happen unless you dress your daughter in baseball tees and cut her hair short.
When was [name_u]Theo[/name_u] a popular nickname for a girl? Did I miss something here?
[name_u]Theo[/name_u] just isn’t feminine to me at all. There are hundreds upon hundreds of girl’s names out there, so it seems a bit unfair to slap a boy’s name on your daughter because you were feeling uninspired. Does [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] appeal to you at all?
I’m probably being hypocritical, because I love [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] on a girl, but I don’t like it, sorry. Maybe as a nn made out of her first and middle name?
[name_f]Thalassa[/name_f] [name_f]Juno[/name_f]? IDK…