Phil
Phil was given to 10 boys in 2025, #8,074 among boys’ names; 20,108 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 10,100 Americans named Phil and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (50% of everyone recorded); the median is 66 years old and half are between 60 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Phil by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Phil mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Phil is “a short form of the male given name Philip.”
Also “a short form of the female given name Philippa.”
Shortened from Philip, from Ancient Greek Φίλιππος (Phílippos), which see for more information.
/fɪl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Phil?
#8,074 among boys’ names, 2025
Phil fell from #5,455 in 2015 to #8,074 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 8.9 to 5.9 per million.
677 babies in 1959, the peak
Phil peaked in 1959, when 677 boys were given it, #300 among boys’ names. The 10 births of 2025 are 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #8,074 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 6 | #11,980 | under 0.01 |
| 2023 | 9 | #8,748 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 8 | #9,617 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 10 | #8,005 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 9 | #8,557 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 14 | #6,323 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 13 | #6,608 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 18 | #5,248 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 16 | #5,723 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 17 | #5,455 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 12 | #6,954 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 16 | #5,580 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 17 | #5,428 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 8 | #9,384 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 8 | #9,447 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 14 | #6,342 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 23 | #4,355 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 20 | #4,758 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 18 | #5,010 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 25 | #3,787 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 18 | #4,732 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 16 | #4,977 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 21 | #4,004 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 19 | #4,243 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 24 | #3,500 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 18 | #4,111 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 24 | #3,264 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 24 | #3,130 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 35 | #2,319 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 22 | #3,158 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 39 | #2,107 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 32 | #2,380 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 35 | #2,199 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 47 | #1,734 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 39 | #1,956 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 47 | #1,668 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 46 | #1,584 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 39 | #1,724 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 43 | #1,556 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 29 | #2,001 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 35 | #1,677 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 45 | #1,416 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 56 | #1,250 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 68 | #1,109 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 49 | #1,353 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 61 | #1,166 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 54 | #1,224 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 65 | #1,077 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 76 | #962 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 69 | #991 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 63 | #1,041 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 81 | #891 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 121 | #724 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 144 | #690 | 0.08 |
| 1970 | 155 | #658 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 195 | #560 | 0.11 |
| 1968 | 193 | #544 | 0.11 |
| 1967 | 210 | #517 | 0.12 |
| 1966 | 271 | #464 | 0.15 |
| 1965 | 359 | #412 | 0.19 |
| 1964 | 478 | #357 | 0.24 |
| 1963 | 474 | #357 | 0.23 |
| 1962 | 613 | #317 | 0.30 |
| 1961 | 634 | #312 | 0.30 |
| 1960 | 626 | #314 | 0.29 |
| 1959 | 677 | #300 | 0.32 |
| 1958 | 576 | #320 | 0.27 |
| 1957 | 495 | #340 | 0.23 |
| 1956 | 335 | #415 | 0.16 |
| 1955 | 297 | #425 | 0.14 |
| 1954 | 236 | #472 | 0.12 |
| 1953 | 258 | #444 | 0.13 |
| 1952 | 256 | #438 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 288 | #400 | 0.15 |
| 1950 | 359 | #356 | 0.20 |
| 1949 | 438 | #328 | 0.25 |
| 1948 | 575 | #281 | 0.33 |
| 1947 | 659 | #261 | 0.36 |
| 1946 | 543 | #276 | 0.33 |
| 1945 | 387 | #303 | 0.29 |
| 1944 | 407 | #296 | 0.30 |
| 1943 | 415 | #306 | 0.29 |
| 1942 | 405 | #303 | 0.29 |
| 1941 | 392 | #295 | 0.32 |
| 1940 | 354 | #297 | 0.31 |
| 1939 | 332 | #307 | 0.30 |
| 1938 | 310 | #311 | 0.28 |
| 1937 | 289 | #319 | 0.27 |
| 1936 | 285 | #319 | 0.27 |
| 1935 | 264 | #338 | 0.25 |
| 1934 | 273 | #327 | 0.26 |
| 1933 | 209 | #375 | 0.21 |
| 1932 | 217 | #382 | 0.21 |
| 1931 | 207 | #392 | 0.20 |
| 1930 | 185 | #431 | 0.17 |
| 1929 | 157 | #468 | 0.15 |
| 1928 | 153 | #491 | 0.14 |
| 1927 | 168 | #467 | 0.15 |
| 1926 | 155 | #483 | 0.14 |
| 1925 | 140 | #521 | 0.13 |
| 1924 | 154 | #503 | 0.14 |
| 1923 | 156 | #493 | 0.14 |
| 1922 | 136 | #539 | 0.12 |
| 1921 | 157 | #495 | 0.14 |
| 1920 | 130 | #537 | 0.12 |
| 1919 | 130 | #523 | 0.13 |
| 1918 | 155 | #477 | 0.15 |
| 1917 | 133 | #500 | 0.14 |
| 1916 | 108 | #551 | 0.12 |
| 1915 | 120 | #508 | 0.14 |
| 1914 | 101 | #485 | 0.15 |
| 1913 | 73 | #507 | 0.14 |
| 1912 | 57 | #528 | 0.13 |
| 1911 | 29 | #570 | 0.13 |
| 1910 | 32 | #499 | 0.16 |
| 1909 | 23 | #554 | 0.14 |
| 1908 | 26 | #497 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 23 | #492 | 0.16 |
| 1906 | 18 | #560 | 0.14 |
| 1905 | 21 | #504 | 0.16 |
| 1904 | 21 | #477 | 0.16 |
| 1903 | 20 | #483 | 0.17 |
| 1902 | 23 | #435 | 0.19 |
| 1901 | 21 | #420 | 0.20 |
| 1900 | 22 | #508 | 0.15 |
| 1899 | 14 | #542 | 0.13 |
| 1898 | 19 | #482 | 0.15 |
| 1897 | 23 | #401 | 0.20 |
| 1896 | 17 | #514 | 0.14 |
| 1895 | 15 | #550 | 0.13 |
| 1894 | 19 | #458 | 0.16 |
| 1893 | 15 | #500 | 0.13 |
| 1892 | 20 | #439 | 0.16 |
| 1891 | 16 | #455 | 0.16 |
| 1890 | 21 | #401 | 0.19 |
| 1889 | 19 | #428 | 0.17 |
| 1888 | 17 | #477 | 0.14 |
| 1887 | 16 | #434 | 0.16 |
| 1886 | 18 | #426 | 0.16 |
| 1885 | 14 | #518 | 0.13 |
| 1884 | 19 | #426 | 0.17 |
| 1883 | 23 | #353 | 0.22 |
| 1882 | 13 | #534 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 18 | #408 | 0.18 |
| 1880 | 12 | #556 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Phil a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Phil has been given almost only to boys: 72 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Phil: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Phil, and how old are they?
10,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 50% of the 20,108 Americans ever recorded as Phil. The median Phil alive today is 66 years old; half are between 60 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 26,593 people named Phil (148 women and girls, 26,445 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 11,772 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.3 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Phil rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,230 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,890 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,870 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 623 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 292 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 157 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Phil born?
The states with the most babies named Phil are California, Texas and Illinois, with 28% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2,057 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Texas | 1,169 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 966 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 946 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 906 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Indiana | 804 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| North Carolina | 685 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 665 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 578 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Oklahoma | 555 | not ranked | 1.8× |
Where Phil is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Phil is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Phil with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 20,730 babies since 1880, Phil is the most given (97% of them).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Phil
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Phil and names like it
- Compare Phil and PhillBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sPhil peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Phil since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Phil.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Phil alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with PMost given first.