Philo

Greek

"loving"

Philo Origin and Meaning

The name Philo is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "loving".

Could Philo be the next Milo?

We love the o-ending and sweet meaning of this dynamic and distinctive Greek name, often used in literature, but never particularly popular.

The ancient Philo (aka Philo of Alexandria and Philo the Jew) was a Biblical philosopher who attempted to merge Greek and Jewish thought.

A character named Philo was a minor figure in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, it was the name of the S. S. Van Dine aristocratic dandy detective Philo Vance, and Clint Eastwood's character in both Any Which Way You Can and Any Which Way But Loose was Philo Beddoe. Most well known Philo in recent real life was inventor Philo Farnsworth.

Philo Rank in US Top 1000

# 975 in the US

Philo Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 1473 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Philo

• 1473 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Philo

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Philo.

• Wolfram
• Ptolemy
• Florent
• Zebulon
• Barthelemy
• Rollo
• Ludovico
• Havelock
• Prospero
• Absalom
• Kitto
• Hieronymus
• Floris
• Basile
• Bonaventure
• Yasha
• Beowulf
• Belvedere
• Alois
• Tristram

Famous People Named Philo

• Philo of Alexandria Jewish philosopher of Hellenistic Egypt
• Philo of Byblos Greek writer
• Philo of Larissa Greek philosopher
• Philo of Byzantium Greek engineer
• Philo the Dialectician Greek philosopher
• Philo Taylor Farnsworth American inventor of television
• Philo McCullough American actor
• Philo Hall U.S. Congressman from South Dakota
• Philo Norton McGiffin U.S. naval officer
• Philo Alphonso Wallace Barbadian cricketer

The name Philo in Pop Culture

• Philo Beddoe character in the films "Every Which Way but Loose" and "Any Which Way You Can"
• Philo Vance main character in detective novels by S.S. van Dine
• Philo Thibodeau character from "Star of Babylon," by Barbara Wood
• Philo character on TV's Fraggle Rock
• Philo character from the "Weird Al" Yankovic film UHF
• Philo character in David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion