Phil

Did you know?

A few things about Phil you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Phil

Phil Foden

English footballer (born 2000)

Choose Phil and your child shares a first name with Phil Foden, an English footballer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Phil, like who?” Phil Foden's Wikipedia article is available in 65 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Phil Foden on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 169,492 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Phil, 10 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Phil would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryPhil has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Phils, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1947, when it ranked #260. Today it's #7,679, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowPhil was 2.1× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 81,967 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 169,492.
• 🚀TrendPhil has climbed 388 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #7,679. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 💬MeaningPhil is an English form of Philip, which means “lover of horses”. Our records link it to Greek, Latin and Spanish roots.

About the name Phil

Phil is a boy name of Greek, Latin and Spanish origin meaning “lover of horses”. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with P and ending in “-hil”. US birth records list Phil for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1947, when it ranked #260 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #7,679, with 10 babies.

Origin:Greek namesLatin namesSpanish names