Given name & surname
Theophilus
“one who is loved by God”
Theophilus is used as a given name and a surname. One Greek interpretation is “one who is loved by God.”
Original GreekΘεόφιλος
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “one who is loved by God.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
In English usage, Theophilus developed from the Ancient Greek form Θεόφιλος.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Theophilus appears in Luke 1:3.
From biblical name research
Theophilus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,448
- 2,448 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 68 babies
- 2025
- 57
- #2,417 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +34%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 57 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,417 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 33.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Washington had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,790 as a first name in 2020; 258 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.
Theophilus’s family of names
Theophilus has a later derivative in Teofilo. In English usage, Theophilus has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Teofil. In English usage, Theophilus has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Teofilo.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Theophilus has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Theophilus comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 19
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 8
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Theophilus
- Eben Döngesformer elected State President of South Africa who died before being able to take office (1898–1968)
- Theophilus Presbyter12th-century German monk and writer1070–1125
- Doctor KhumaloSouth African footballerborn 1967
- Theophilus Van KannelAmerican engineer (1841–1919)
- Theophilus Siegfried BayerGerman sinologist1694–1738
- Theophilus of AdanaByzantine saint
- Theophilus LondonAmerican rapper and singerborn 1987
- Theophilus ShepstoneBritish South African statesman (1817-1893)
- Theophilus of CorteFrench saint1676–1740
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Theophilus, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“gift”
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“enduring life; everlasting; immortal”
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Sirius
“resembling the brightest star”
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