Philip
Philip was given to 568 boys in 2025, #528 among boys’ names; 345,173 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 204,000 Americans named Philip and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (59% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 40 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Philip by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Philip mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Philip is “a male given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the senses “fond of horses” (φίλιππος) and “to love” (φιλέω) and “horse” (ἵππος).
From Middle English Philip, ultimately from Ancient Greek Φίλιππος (Phílippos), name of ancient kings of Macedonia, from φίλιππος (phílippos, “fond of horses”), from φιλέω (philéō, “to love”) + ἵππος (híppos, “horse”).
/ˈfɪlɪp/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Philip?
#528 among boys’ names, 2025
Philip fell from #433 in 2015 to #528 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.37 to 0.33 per 1,000.
6,288 babies in 1953, the peak
Philip peaked in 1953, when 6,288 babies were given it (6,279 boys, #61 among boys’ names). The 568 births of 2025 are 9% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 568 | #528 | 0.33 |
| 2024 | 588 | #521 | 0.34 |
| 2023 | 605 | #499 | 0.35 |
| 2022 | 619 | #493 | 0.35 |
| 2021 | 675 | #452 | 0.39 |
| 2020 | 658 | #453 | 0.38 |
| 2019 | 696 | #439 | 0.39 |
| 2018 | 693 | #437 | 0.38 |
| 2017 | 729 | #426 | 0.39 |
| 2016 | 712 | #435 | 0.38 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 708 | #433 | 0.37 |
| 2014 | 799 | #389 | 0.42 |
| 2013 | 769 | #387 | 0.41 |
| 2012 | 715 | #408 | 0.38 |
| 2011 | 696 | #407 | 0.37 |
| 2010 | 699 | #404 | 0.36 |
| 2009 | 765 | #394 | 0.39 |
| 2008 | 817 | #377 | 0.40 |
| 2007 | 881 | #359 | 0.42 |
| 2006 | 909 | #341 | 0.44 |
| 2005 | 993 | #325 | 0.50 |
| 2004 | 1,019 | #307 | 0.51 |
| 2003 | 1,075 | #289 | 0.54 |
| 2002 | 1,201 | #263 | 0.62 |
| 2001 | 1,221 | #268 | 0.63 |
| 2000 | 1,312 | #255 | 0.67 |
| 1999 | 1,326 | #240 | 0.69 |
| 1998 | 1,499 | #214 | 0.78 |
| 1997 | 1,661 | #195 | 0.88 |
| 1996 | 1,725 | #185 | 0.91 |
| 1995 | 1,757 | #180 | 0.92 |
| 1994 | 1,896 | #168 | 1.0 |
| 1993 | 2,270 | #147 | 1.2 |
| 1992 | 2,434 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1991 | 2,749 | #120 | 1.4 |
| 1990 | 3,143 | #111 | 1.5 |
| 1989 | 3,330 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1988 | 3,373 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1987 | 3,837 | #84 | 2.1 |
| 1986 | 3,665 | #86 | 2.0 |
| 1985 | 3,735 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1984 | 3,519 | #81 | 1.9 |
| 1983 | 3,488 | #82 | 1.9 |
| 1982 | 3,642 | #79 | 2.0 |
| 1981 | 3,581 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1980 | 3,563 | #82 | 2.0 |
| 1979 | 3,460 | #83 | 2.0 |
| 1978 | 3,298 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1977 | 3,093 | #90 | 1.9 |
| 1976 | 2,943 | #89 | 1.9 |
| 1975 | 3,011 | #85 | 1.9 |
| 1974 | 2,967 | #86 | 1.9 |
| 1973 | 2,997 | #91 | 1.9 |
| 1972 | 2,776 | #104 | 1.7 |
| 1971 | 3,302 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1970 | 3,520 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1969 | 3,540 | #86 | 2.0 |
| 1968 | 3,622 | #82 | 2.1 |
| 1967 | 3,786 | #82 | 2.2 |
| 1966 | 3,954 | #86 | 2.2 |
| 1965 | 4,278 | #87 | 2.3 |
| 1964 | 4,977 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 1963 | 4,757 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1962 | 5,069 | #81 | 2.5 |
| 1961 | 5,288 | #79 | 2.5 |
| 1960 | 5,509 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1959 | 5,862 | #68 | 2.7 |
| 1958 | 5,832 | #67 | 2.7 |
| 1957 | 6,012 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1956 | 6,105 | #64 | 2.9 |
| 1955 | 6,162 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1954 | 6,279 | #62 | 3.1 |
| 1953 | 6,279 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1952 | 6,154 | #60 | 3.2 |
| 1951 | 6,098 | #55 | 3.2 |
| 1950 | 6,070 | #53 | 3.4 |
| 1949 | 6,224 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1948 | 6,162 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1947 | 6,235 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1946 | 5,093 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1945 | 4,112 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1944 | 3,992 | #60 | 2.9 |
| 1943 | 4,473 | #57 | 3.1 |
| 1942 | 4,604 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1941 | 4,166 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1940 | 3,674 | #60 | 3.2 |
| 1939 | 3,174 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1938 | 3,172 | #64 | 2.9 |
| 1937 | 3,162 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1936 | 3,033 | #63 | 2.9 |
| 1935 | 3,064 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1934 | 2,784 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1933 | 2,530 | #70 | 2.6 |
| 1932 | 2,625 | #70 | 2.5 |
| 1931 | 2,648 | #71 | 2.5 |
| 1930 | 2,655 | #75 | 2.4 |
| 1929 | 2,606 | #76 | 2.4 |
| 1928 | 2,726 | #73 | 2.5 |
| 1927 | 2,677 | #75 | 2.4 |
| 1926 | 2,708 | #70 | 2.4 |
| 1925 | 2,675 | #75 | 2.4 |
| 1924 | 2,921 | #71 | 2.6 |
| 1923 | 2,783 | #70 | 2.5 |
| 1922 | 2,769 | #70 | 2.5 |
| 1921 | 2,703 | #72 | 2.5 |
| 1920 | 2,700 | #71 | 2.5 |
| 1919 | 2,531 | #71 | 2.6 |
| 1918 | 2,733 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1917 | 2,544 | #66 | 2.7 |
| 1916 | 2,409 | #70 | 2.7 |
| 1915 | 2,328 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1914 | 1,870 | #68 | 2.9 |
| 1913 | 1,484 | #69 | 2.9 |
| 1912 | 1,237 | #69 | 2.9 |
| 1911 | 612 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1910 | 418 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1909 | 395 | #78 | 2.4 |
| 1908 | 319 | #86 | 2.1 |
| 1907 | 356 | #76 | 2.4 |
| 1906 | 280 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1905 | 234 | #96 | 1.8 |
| 1904 | 266 | #86 | 2.1 |
| 1903 | 250 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1902 | 226 | #90 | 1.8 |
| 1901 | 232 | #84 | 2.2 |
| 1900 | 259 | #94 | 1.7 |
| 1899 | 223 | #84 | 2.1 |
| 1898 | 244 | #86 | 2.0 |
| 1897 | 200 | #89 | 1.8 |
| 1896 | 218 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1895 | 211 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1894 | 214 | #91 | 1.8 |
| 1893 | 208 | #91 | 1.9 |
| 1892 | 239 | #82 | 2.0 |
| 1891 | 198 | #80 | 2.0 |
| 1890 | 192 | #88 | 1.7 |
| 1889 | 183 | #95 | 1.7 |
| 1888 | 196 | #91 | 1.6 |
| 1887 | 161 | #95 | 1.6 |
| 1886 | 187 | #87 | 1.7 |
| 1885 | 163 | #89 | 1.5 |
| 1884 | 161 | #96 | 1.4 |
| 1883 | 166 | #85 | 1.6 |
| 1882 | 182 | #87 | 1.6 |
| 1881 | 156 | #83 | 1.5 |
| 1880 | 186 | #81 | 1.7 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Philip a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Philip has been given almost only to boys: 1,137 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Philip: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Philip, and how old are they?
204,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 59% of the 345,173 Americans ever recorded as Philip. The median Philip alive today is 56 years old; half are between 40 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 223,037 people named Philip (198 women and girls, 222,839 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 223,564 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 13,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 72,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 47,800 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 45,800 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 16,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 8,750 |
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 Philip born?
The states with the most babies named Philip are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 30% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 50,401 | #371 | 1.8× |
| California | 25,503 | #579 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 23,985 | #376 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 18,667 | #465 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 18,332 | #343 | 1.8× |
| Ohio | 17,093 | #375 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 14,245 | #393 | 1.4× |
| Michigan | 13,898 | #559 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 12,503 | #688 | 0.6× |
| Indiana | 8,839 | #362 | 1.0× |
Where Philip is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Philip is most over-represented in Maine: since 1910 it was given 2.2 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 Philip 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 6 names spelled alike, given to 661,597 babies since 1880, Philip is the most given (52% of them). In 2025 it was given to 568 of their 1,040 babies (55%), again the most given.
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 Philip
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 Philip and names like it
- Compare Philip and PhillipBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sPhilip peaked in 1953.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Philip since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Philip: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1953The year the most babies were named Philip.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Philip alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with PMost given first.