Given name & surname
Theophile
Theophile is used as a given name and a surname.
Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Theophile isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
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
Theophile through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 221
- 221 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1928
- 15 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2020. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 15 in 1928. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 307 as a first name in 2020; 405 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.
Theophile’s family of names
Theophile may belong to the same name family as THEOPHILLE. This is a tentative spelling connection.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Theophile, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Elihu
“My God is He”
>99% boys
Emile
“one who is eager; an industrious man”
99% boys · 1% girls
Orville
“from the gold town”
>99% boys
Margarito
“resembling a pearl”
>99% boys
Elwin
“a friend of the elves”
>99% boys
Cosimo
“the order of the universe”
>99% boys
Earnest
“one who is sincere and determined; serious”
>99% boys
Napoleon
“a man from Naples” · “son of the mists”
>99% boys