Theophil is a name of Greek origin, derived from the elements "theos" meaning 'god' and "philos" meaning 'love'. Thus, it translates to 'beloved by God' or 'God-loving'. This name was popular in the early Christian era and was often given to children born into families with strong religious convictions. It is a unisex name, though more commonly used for males historically. Theophil is not particularly common today, contributing to its unique and distinctive character. It is spelled identically across many languages, making it easy to pronounce and recognize internationally. In the context of literature, the name appears in the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as a character in his novel "Emile".
"The name Theophil experienced a significant peak in popularity around the early 1910s with 11 births each year from 1912 to 1913, and again in 1918 with 18 births. However, its popularity declined throughout the 1920s, ranging between 5 and 12 births per year, and has remained consistently low since then, with only 5 births recorded annually from 1929 to 2023."