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Theophilus

#2,417 in 2025Boys' name

Love of God

Theophilus has been given to 2,448 babies in the U.S. since 1882. In 2025 it ranked #2,417 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2022, with 68 recorded.

Babies named Theophilus, 2025

1 in 58,200

Theophilus over time, 1880–2025

Boys
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Theophilus: meaning, origin, and history

Love of God

Ancient Greek and Latin

What Theophilus means

Theophilus means “love of God”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Middle English Theophilus, from Latin Theophilus, from Ancient Greek Θεόφιλος (Theóphilos), meaning "love of God" or "friend of God".

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Theophilus (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Theophilus is used in English and German. Its origins include Ancient Greek and Latin.

Theophilus comes through Middle English Theophilus, Latin Theophilus and Ancient Greek Θεόφιλος.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Theophilus is pronounced /θiːˈɒfɪləs/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,448 boys were recorded with the name Theophilus between 1882 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 68 in 2022; its best national rank was #1,047 in 1901.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #2,836 in 2020 to #2,417 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #3,357 in 2015 to #2,417 in 2025.

How common is Theophilus?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 58,200
57 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 30,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,417
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
40,315 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Theophilus sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 40,315 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Theophilus. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Theophiluss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Theophilus was born before 1980 — so the typical Theophilus is around 45 today.

Median birth year
1980
About 45 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
14.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
36.1%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,769
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 14.7% of all recorded uses (360).

Is Theophilus rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−186
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+419
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+940
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.68×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
83.8%
Peak was 2022 (68)
Years since peak
3
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
21.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,047
1901

Where Theophilus is used

Across 1910–2025, Theophilus was most concentrated in Washington — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 611,647 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Washington1 in 100,000
  2. 2California1 in —
  3. 3Colorado1 in —
  4. 4Florida1 in —
  5. 5Georgia1 in —
  6. 6Illinois1 in —
  7. 7Kentucky1 in —
  8. 8Michigan1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Theophilus has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Theophilus around the world

Where Theophilus ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #2,664
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2016–2024
    #2,550
    in 2024

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics and Statistics Canada. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Theophilus

People whose public names include Theophilus, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Theophilus in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Theophilus. Linked forms have their own page here.

TeofilAmadeusBohumilTeofiloGottliebTheophilTheofilosAmadioAmédéeBogomilBogumilBogumiłGotliebTeófiloTheofilTeofilusTheofielThéophile

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Theophilus by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,417
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 419
Best rank ever
#1,047
1901
Peak year
2022
68 that year
First recorded
1882
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,448
Count in 2025
57

Names similar to Theophilus

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

TheloniousTheadoreTheodorosTheodorMarcellusTheodenTheodoroTheodisThelbertThermanTheordoreTheseusTheophilTheresaThedoreTheopolisTheophileTheotisTheronThermonTheodorusThelmaNicholusRomulus

Names with a curve like Theophilus

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Theophilus, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

ThompsonPascalLarkinCiroCollinsLevyConwayAugustinBerkleyHollandMaceoHansel

Sibling names for Theophilus

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Theophilus

Top names of 2022, Theophilus's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1901Boys' names starting with T