[2] This is a “common personal name”, being derived from Aphrodite meaning “lovely” or “charming”;[3][4] moreover, the proper name is found in the papyri with alternative spelling (81-2 B.C.)

"The name occurs very frequently in inscriptions both Greek and Latin, whether at full length Epaphroditus, or in its contracted form Epaphras.

[7] Some link Epaphroditus with another proper name in the New Testament, Epaphras (Colossians 1:7, 4:12; Philemon 23), with the suggestion that the latter is a “contracted” or “pet form” for the Philippian envoy.

The designation leitourgos derives from Greek civic use, indicating “public servant,” often one with financial resources to fulfill his functions, so Epaphroditus may have been not only an official of the Philippian church, but a person of means, able to supplement that community's gift to Paul (4:18).

The Biblical commentator William Barclay suggested that Epaphroditus might be the most likely person to be identified with the unnamed arbitrator upon whom Paul called (in his epistle) to intervene in the disagreement between church members Euodia and Syntyche.