Teofilo
A masculine name with Spanish-Greek roots meaning "beloved of God".
Name Census estimates that about 723 living Americans carry the first name Teofilo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Teofilo today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Teofilo births was 1978 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Teofilo. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Teofilo with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
723
~ 1 in 474,072 Americans
Peak year
1978
23 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,152
Tracked since 1905
Census
Teofilo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,123 people with the first name Teofilo, which placed it at #5,486 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,486
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
79.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Teofilo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teofilo is Hispanic at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (16.1%) and White (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Teofilo described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Teofilo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino79.8% · 2,492
- Asian and Pacific Islander16.1% · 504
- White2.4% · 75
- Black or African American0.8% · 26
- Two or more races0.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Popularity
Teofilo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Teofilo from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 134 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Teofilo by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Teofilo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Teofilos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Teofilo, while New Mexico, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 60 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Teofilo
The given name Teofilo has its origins in Greek language and culture. It is derived from the Greek words "theos" meaning God and "philos" meaning beloved or friend. Thus, the name Teofilo translates to "beloved of God" or "friend of God".
This name was popular among early Christians, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean region where Greek was widely spoken. It is believed to have first appeared in the first few centuries of the Common Era, during the spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire.
One of the earliest known references to the name Teofilo can be found in the Gospel of Luke, which is addressed to a person named Theophilus. While it is unclear if this was an actual individual or a symbolic representation of a "lover of God", it highlights the early use of this name among Christian communities.
In the 4th century, there was a notable figure named Teofilo of Alexandria, who served as the Patriarch of Alexandria from 385 to 412 CE. He played a significant role in the early church and was known for his theological writings.
Another historical figure with this name was Teofilo Gallaccini (1564-1639), an Italian architect and engineer who is credited with the design of several notable buildings in Rome and other Italian cities.
During the Renaissance period, Teofilo Folengo (1491-1544) was an Italian monk and poet who wrote under the pseudonym "Merlin Cocai". He is renowned for his satirical works, particularly the "Baldo" series, which parodied the chivalric romances of the time.
In the realm of music, Teofilo Braga (1843-1924) was a Portuguese writer, philosopher, and historian who made significant contributions to the study of Portuguese literature and folklore.
Teofilo Borunda (1912-1981) was a Mexican-American artist and sculptor, known for his works that celebrated the cultural heritage and struggles of Mexican-Americans in the United States.
It is important to note that while the name Teofilo has its roots in Greek and early Christian traditions, it has been adapted and used across various cultures and regions throughout history, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation.
People
Teofilo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Teofilo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Teofilo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Teofilo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 723 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Teofilo going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 474,072 US residents.
Is Teofilo a common name?
We classify Teofilo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,040 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Teofilo most popular?
The single biggest year for Teofilo was 1978, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Teofilo is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Teofilo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,123 people with the name Teofilo, or 1.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,486 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Teofilo in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Teofilo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Teofilo appears almost entirely male. Of the 3,127 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Teofilo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teofilo is Hispanic at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (16.1%) and White (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Teofilo most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Teofilo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (2,492 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Teofilo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Teofilo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Teofilo in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Teofilo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Teofilo in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Teofilo can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Teofilo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.