Youssef Aftimus was born on November 25, 1866 to a Greek Catholic family in the historic town of Deir el Qamar. Aftimus attended school at Collège des Frères Maristes in his hometown as of 1875.[4] In 1879 he transferred to the Syrian Protestant College (later known as the American University of Beirut to complete his studies where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.