Philomena
Philomena was given to 101 girls in 2025, #1,920 among girls’ names; 9,951 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,890 Americans named Philomena and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (29% of everyone recorded); the median is 28 years old and half are between 9 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Philomena by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Philomena mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Philomena is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “beloved” (literally).
From Latin Philomēna, from Ancient Greek Φιλουμένη (Philouménē, literally “beloved”). Name of an alleged early martyr whose remains were discovered in 1802 in Rome. Doublet of Philomene.
/ˌfɪləˈmiːnə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Philomena?
#1,920 among girls’ names, 2025
Philomena rose from #2,372 in 2015 to #1,920 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 43.7 to 62.8 per million.
308 babies in 1922, the peak
Philomena peaked in 1922, when 308 girls were given it, #371 among girls’ names. The 101 births of 2025 are 33% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 101 | #1,920 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 111 | #1,819 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 80 | #2,306 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 83 | #2,272 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 77 | #2,361 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 86 | #2,131 | 0.05 |
| 2019 | 92 | #2,065 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 87 | #2,176 | 0.05 |
| 2017 | 92 | #2,106 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 93 | #2,112 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 78 | #2,372 | 0.04 |
| 2014 | 67 | #2,637 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 43 | #3,624 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 41 | #3,837 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 41 | #3,769 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 31 | #4,707 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 19 | #7,003 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 24 | #5,906 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 33 | #4,540 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 25 | #5,507 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 23 | #5,560 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 27 | #4,910 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 18 | #6,502 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 17 | #6,615 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 15 | #7,228 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 17 | #6,403 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 20 | #5,367 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 21 | #5,080 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 16 | #6,092 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 15 | #6,294 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 9 | #9,345 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 8 | #10,264 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 7 | #11,439 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 9 | #9,286 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 12 | #7,275 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 5 | #14,586 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 9 | #8,541 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 9 | #8,186 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 6 | #10,861 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 7 | #9,281 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 8 | #8,098 | under 0.01 |
| 1983 | 12 | #5,719 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 7 | #8,926 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 7 | #8,771 | under 0.01 |
| 1980 | 7 | #8,794 | under 0.01 |
| 1979 | 8 | #7,827 | under 0.01 |
| 1978 | 15 | #4,610 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 9 | #6,717 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 7 | #7,879 | under 0.01 |
| 1975 | 12 | #5,072 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 11 | #5,251 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 9 | #5,920 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,955 | under 0.01 |
| 1971 | 18 | #3,613 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 20 | #3,280 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 22 | #2,891 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 14 | #3,726 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 18 | #3,039 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 23 | #2,553 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 24 | #2,519 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 18 | #3,074 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 21 | #2,757 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 31 | #2,144 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 25 | #2,456 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 43 | #1,742 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 46 | #1,608 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 44 | #1,620 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 39 | #1,740 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 62 | #1,324 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 52 | #1,396 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 56 | #1,340 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 64 | #1,209 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 59 | #1,246 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 53 | #1,288 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 59 | #1,208 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 49 | #1,316 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 57 | #1,206 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 57 | #1,200 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 46 | #1,285 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 33 | #1,413 | 0.03 |
| 1944 | 48 | #1,136 | 0.04 |
| 1943 | 54 | #1,099 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 67 | #956 | 0.05 |
| 1941 | 71 | #867 | 0.06 |
| 1940 | 65 | #891 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 63 | #887 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 81 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 80 | #765 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 76 | #778 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 79 | #764 | 0.08 |
| 1934 | 110 | #640 | 0.11 |
| 1933 | 114 | #609 | 0.11 |
| 1932 | 133 | #568 | 0.12 |
| 1931 | 156 | #529 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 178 | #502 | 0.16 |
| 1929 | 226 | #439 | 0.20 |
| 1928 | 225 | #460 | 0.20 |
| 1927 | 267 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1926 | 261 | #427 | 0.22 |
| 1925 | 270 | #420 | 0.22 |
| 1924 | 291 | #403 | 0.23 |
| 1923 | 299 | #385 | 0.25 |
| 1922 | 308 | #371 | 0.26 |
| 1921 | 294 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1920 | 270 | #404 | 0.23 |
| 1919 | 244 | #416 | 0.22 |
| 1918 | 265 | #402 | 0.23 |
| 1917 | 290 | #371 | 0.27 |
| 1916 | 296 | #358 | 0.28 |
| 1915 | 284 | #355 | 0.29 |
| 1914 | 207 | #368 | 0.27 |
| 1913 | 156 | #388 | 0.25 |
| 1912 | 139 | #393 | 0.25 |
| 1911 | 109 | #389 | 0.26 |
| 1910 | 81 | #444 | 0.20 |
| 1909 | 72 | #438 | 0.21 |
| 1908 | 96 | #369 | 0.29 |
| 1907 | 75 | #410 | 0.24 |
| 1906 | 58 | #450 | 0.20 |
| 1905 | 73 | #396 | 0.25 |
| 1904 | 48 | #478 | 0.17 |
| 1903 | 66 | #392 | 0.25 |
| 1902 | 47 | #462 | 0.18 |
| 1901 | 40 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1900 | 38 | #566 | 0.13 |
| 1899 | 47 | #429 | 0.20 |
| 1898 | 33 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1897 | 36 | #486 | 0.15 |
| 1896 | 34 | #511 | 0.14 |
| 1895 | 32 | #528 | 0.14 |
| 1894 | 25 | #593 | 0.11 |
| 1893 | 24 | #591 | 0.11 |
| 1892 | 28 | #525 | 0.13 |
| 1891 | 16 | #690 | 0.09 |
| 1890 | 21 | #577 | 0.11 |
| 1889 | 22 | #553 | 0.12 |
| 1888 | 24 | #523 | 0.13 |
| 1887 | 9 | #840 | 0.06 |
| 1886 | 15 | #599 | 0.10 |
| 1885 | 14 | #603 | 0.11 |
| 1884 | 10 | #720 | 0.08 |
| 1883 | 15 | #511 | 0.13 |
| 1882 | 10 | #628 | 0.09 |
| 1881 | 11 | #532 | 0.12 |
| 1880 | 10 | #572 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Philomena a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Philomena has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 145 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Philomena: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Philomena, and how old are they?
2,890 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 29% of the 9,951 Americans ever recorded as Philomena. The median Philomena alive today is 28 years old; half are between 9 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 4,052 people named Philomena (4,041 women and girls, 11 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,946 born in the U.S. The Census count is 38% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 394 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 670 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 205 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 127 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 384 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,080 |
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 Philomena born?
The states with the most babies named Philomena are New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with 74% of its births recorded by state since 1910; New Jersey is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 2,046 | #2,341 | 2.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,780 | #1,355 | 2.7× |
| New Jersey | 781 | not ranked | 2.9× |
| Massachusetts | 473 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Connecticut | 388 | not ranked | 3.3× |
| Ohio | 243 | #946 | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 194 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| California | 79 | #3,021 | 0.2× |
| Rhode Island | 70 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Texas | 39 | #2,007 | 0.1× |
Where Philomena is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Philomena is most over-represented in Connecticut: since 1910 it was given 3.3 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 girls’ 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 Philomena 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 16,201 babies since 1880, Philomena is the most given (61% of them). In 2025 it was given to 101 of their 132 babies (77%), 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 Philomena
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 Philomena and names like it
- Compare Philomena and FilomenaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sPhilomena peaked in 1922.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Philomena since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Philomena: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1922The year the most babies were named Philomena.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Philomena alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with PMost given first.