From Greek 'philos' meaning 'loving' or 'friend'.
Philo derives from the ancient Greek 'philos,' meaning loving, dear, or fond — the same root that gives us philosophy ('love of wisdom'), philanthropy ('love of humanity'), and philharmonic ('love of music'). As a standalone name it has a long and distinguished lineage, most notably borne by Philo of Alexandria, also called Philo Judaeus (c. 20 BC – 50 AD), the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who attempted one of history's most ambitious intellectual projects: reconciling the Torah with Platonic and Stoic philosophy.
His allegorical readings of scripture profoundly influenced early Christian theology and the development of Neoplatonism. In American history, Philo appears with some regularity through the nineteenth century, reflecting the era's taste for classical names with transparent meanings. The name gained an unlikely modern champion in Philo T.
Farnsworth, the Idaho farm boy who — working largely in isolation — invented the all-electronic television in the late 1920s, filing his key patent at age twenty-one. Farnsworth's story, a quintessentially American tale of solitary genius undone by corporate power, gave the name a quietly heroic resonance. S.
Van Dine in the 1920s, brought the name a different kind of glamour — aristocratic, acerbic, and brilliantly analytical. Philo today is rare enough to feel genuinely distinctive while carrying centuries of warmth and intellectual association.