The story in the numbers

311,120 boys have been named Phillip in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1960, with 6,043 births — 0.28% of all boys recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 390 → 626).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1965, and the 1950s alone account for 17%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 55 of them in the top 100.

It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 1,330 girls have also been given it, 0.43% of the total.

Rank among boys, year by year

By decade

Decade

boys named Phillip

898

884

1,161

5,135

9,525

16,533

36,988

52,458

50,394

39,844

45,706

27,970

13,473

7,624

2,527

In 1960, its biggest year

Phillip was the 66th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1960 were David, Michael, James, John and Robert. See all of 1960.

Names that rose and fell with Phillip

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.