Given name & surname
Theron
“a great hunter”
Theron is used as a given name and a surname. One Greek interpretation is “a great hunter.”
Original GreekΘερόν
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “a great hunter.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
From Latin torus, from Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- (“to extend, to stretch out”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Theron through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 13,000
- 12,960 boys · 40 girls
- Most popular year
- 1966
- 180 babies
- 2025
- 55
- #2,474 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −37%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 55 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,474 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 35.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 180 in 1966. In 2025, Georgia had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,539 as a first name in 2020; 256 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Theron’s family of names
Theron has a feminine form in Therona. Theron has a related form in Tharon. Theron has a related form in Theon.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Theron
- Tre BusseyAmerican basketball player (born 1991)
- Theron CooperBahamian sprinterborn 1974
- Theron SmithAmerican basketball player (born 1980)
- Theron ReadAmerican actor (1964-2009)
- Theron M. RiceAmerican politician (1829-1895)
- Theron C. BennettAmerican musician (1879-1937)
- Theron AkinU.S. Representative (1855–1933)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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