From Greek Theophilos meaning 'friend of God' or 'loved by God'; appears in the New Testament.
Theophilus is Greek of the most classical order: Θεόφιλος, composed of theos (θεός, "God") and philos (φίλος, "beloved" or "friend"), yielding the beautiful meaning "beloved of God" or "one who loves God." It is a name that announces its bearer as standing in a particular relationship with the divine, and it has been borne accordingly by figures of theological and intellectual weight across two millennia. Most notably, the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament are both addressed to "most excellent Theophilus" — a patron, possibly a Roman official, whose identity has fascinated biblical scholars for centuries.
The name passed through the early Christian church into Byzantine tradition, carried by emperors and patriarchs. Theophilus of Alexandria, Theophilus of Antioch, and Theophilus the Byzantine Emperor all bear the name in significant chapters of Christian history. There is also a great lunar crater named Theophilus, honoring the third-century bishop and astronomer — the name literally marks a feature of the moon.
In the English-speaking world, the name enjoyed use from the Puritan era through the Victorian period, when classical and biblical names were worn with unselfconscious gravity. Today Theophilus reads as gloriously unwieldy — a five-syllable commitment — and yet it is precisely this grandeur that draws contemporary parents back to it. It abbreviates warmly to Theo, offering a practical everyday name anchored by something genuinely vast.