Amplias is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Amplias was a Christian living in Rome in the first century. He is known to us only because the apostle Paul greeted him by name at the end of his letter to the Romans. In Romans 16, Paul sends personal greetings to a long list of believers in the church at Rome, and Amplias appears among them in verse 8. This single verse is the only place in the King James Bible where his name is found.
Paul calls him “my beloved in the Lord.” That phrase tells us two things about Amplias. First, he was a believer in Jesus Christ—he was “in the Lord.” Second, he was dear to Paul personally, a man the apostle regarded with warm affection. The greeting also shows that Amplias was part of the Christian community in Rome, a congregation Paul had not yet visited when he wrote this letter but whose members he knew and loved.
Amplias did nothing recorded in Scripture beyond being a member of that church. He is not described as a teacher, a deacon, or a missionary. He simply belonged to the body of Christ in Rome and was known and loved by Paul. His inclusion in Romans 16 places him among the ordinary believers whose faithfulness made up the early church.
The Name
The name Amplias is a Greek name, likely a shortened form of a longer Roman name such as Ampliatus, which was common in that era. The name is generally understood to derive from the Latin word *amplus*, meaning “large” or “abundant.” Some sources connect it with the idea of being enlarged or increased. Beyond this general association with the Latin root, no deeper spiritual meaning is clearly established for the name itself, and Scripture assigns it none.
A Closing Thought
Amplias is a reminder that most of the people in God’s story are not famous. He never preached a sermon we can read or performed a deed we can study. Yet Paul called him “beloved in the Lord,” and his name was carried across the centuries in Scripture. Faithfulness in an ordinary life is not forgotten by God. If you feel unseen or unimportant in your service to Christ, take heart: being loved in the Lord is the highest commendation any life can receive, and it is one that heaven never overlooks.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Romans 16:8 — Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.