Theophilus

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Teofilo in PE Peru, BR Brazil, AR Argentina and 12 more and Teófilo in CO Colombia.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 10 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Theophilus is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name1.2K records spelled Theophilus2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, Nigeria, United Kingdom

  Also written Théophilus

• French given name547 records spelled Theophilus24 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Cameroon, Belgium

  Languages: French, Swahili, Catalan

  Also written Theophile, Théophile, Teofil, Theophilos, Thèophile

• Greek given name226 records spelled Theophilus12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, Cyprus, United Kingdom

  Also written Theofilos, Theophilos, Θεοφιλος, Θεόφιλος, Θεοφίλος

59 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Theophilus is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• A classic name of Greek origin meaning 'friend of God', Theophilus is known from the New Testament as the respected individual to whom the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles were dedicated.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name is derived from the Koine Greek Θεόφιλος (Theophilos), which is a compound of Θεός (Theos), meaning 'God', and φίλος (philos), meaning 'friend' or 'beloved'.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In English, The addressee of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, crater on Moon

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In Swedish, Se Amadeus.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 124 years between 1882–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• John Theophilus Desaguliersb. 1683FRFrench-born British natural philosopher and clergyman
• Theophilus Siegfried Bayerb. 1694DEGerman sinologist
• Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdonb. 1696English noble (1696-1746)
• Samuel Lindeb. 1771PLnot in their usual namePolish academic
• I. T. A. Wallace-Johnsonb. 1894SLnot in their usual nameSierra Leonean trade unionist, journalist, activist, and politician (1894–1965)
• Theophilus Ebenhaezer Döngesb. 1898ZAformer elected State President of South Africa who died before being able to take office (1898–1968)
• Oliver Jonesb. 1934CAnot in their usual nameCanadian musician
• Doctor Khumalob. 1967ZAnot in their usual nameSouth African footballer
• Theophilus Londonb. 1987USAmerican rapper and singer
• Theo Pinsonb. 1995USnot in their usual nameAmerican basketball player (born 1995)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 215 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Theophilus?

We estimate roughly 17 thousand people bear Theophilus (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Theophilus have the most bearers?

Theophilus is most frequently recorded in Peru, where it is most often spelled teofilo.

How common is Theophilus compared with other names?

In Peru, Theophilus is the 206th most common given name of 221,790 given names recorded there.

Is Theophilus a male or female name?

Theophilus is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Theophilus mean?

Recorded meaning: The name Theophilus is Greek for 'friend of God' or 'loved by God'.