Philip — #521 US boys' name
343,458 babies named Philip in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1953. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 96% of names given to boys today.
18% of everyone ever named Philip was born in this single decade.
6,279 babies were named Philip in 1953 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Philip
The Social Security Administration has registered 343,458 babies named Philip between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Philip currently holds the #521 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1953, when 6,279 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Philip performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 60,851 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Philip shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 50,322 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Philip in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Philip in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 343,458 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Philip at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Philip popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1953)
- 6,279
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #521 among boys.
343,458 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1953 with 6,279 births in a single year.
Philip popularity over time — girls
1,137 total births recorded since 1896 (Philip as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Philip accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Philip by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1950s
- 60,851 births that decade — 18% of Philip's all-time total
Philip decade highlights
- Peak decade 60,851 births
- Runner-up 48,733 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1950s was Philip's strongest decade
60,851 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 18% of all-time use.
Philip by state
Where Philip concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 50,322 | 14.7% |
| #2 | California | | 25,438 | 7.4% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 23,948 | 7.0% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 18,644 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Massachusetts | | 18,316 | 5.3% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 17,057 | 5.0% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 14,224 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 13,881 | 4.0% |
50,322 of 343,458 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 14.7% of nationwide
- California 7.4% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 7.0% of nationwide
- Illinois 5.4% of nationwide
- Massachusetts 5.3% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 14.7% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Philip appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Philip
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.