Febe
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "radiant" or "shining".
Name Census estimates that about 272 living Americans carry the first name Febe. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Febe today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Febe births was 2015 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Febe. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Febe with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
272
~ 1 in 1,260,126 Americans
Peak year
2015
20 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,021
Tracked since 1926
Census
Febe in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 818 people with the first name Febe, which placed it at #14,422 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,422
National first-name rank
People counted
818
818 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
72.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Febe
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Febe is Hispanic at 72.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.8%) and White (9.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Febe described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Febe at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino72.4% · 592
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.8% · 129
- White9.0% · 74
- Black or African American2.0% · 16
- Two or more races0.9% · 7
Popularity
Febe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Febe from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 109 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Febe by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Febe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Febes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Febe
The name Febe originates from the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the 1st century AD. It is derived from the Greek word "Phoibe," which means "brilliant" or "radiant." This name was particularly popular in the early Christian era and has been associated with various historical figures and religious contexts.
In the New Testament, the name Febe is mentioned in the book of Romans, chapter 16, verse 1. The apostle Paul refers to a woman named Febe, whom he describes as a "servant" or "deaconess" of the church in Cenchreae. This reference suggests that Febe was an influential figure in the early Christian community, and her name held significance within the religious context.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Febe can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian, Plutarch. He mentions a woman named Febe who lived in the 1st century AD and was known for her wisdom and virtue.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Febe:
1. Febe Arteaga Quintero (1925-2019), a Mexican artist and activist known for her contributions to the feminist movement in Mexico.
2. Febe Velasquez (1800s), a Puerto Rican revolutionary who fought against Spanish colonial rule in the 19th century.
3. Febe Kemeny (1913-1993), a Hungarian-American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis.
4. Febe Calderón (1977-), a Spanish actress and television presenter known for her work in various Spanish-language productions.
5. Febe Armanios (1976-), an American academic and author who specializes in the study of Coptic Christianity and gender studies.
While the name Febe has its roots in Greek antiquity, it has been embraced and adapted by various cultures and communities throughout history. Its meaning, "brilliant" or "radiant," has likely contributed to its enduring appeal and use across different eras and regions.
People
Febe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Febe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Febe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Febe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 272 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Febe going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,260,126 US residents.
Is Febe a common name?
We classify Febe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 282 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Febe most popular?
The single biggest year for Febe was 2015, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Febe is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Febe in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 818 people with the name Febe, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,422 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Febe in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Febe?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Febe leans strongly female. 814 people counted with this name were female (98.2%), compared with 15 male bearers (1.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Febe?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Febe is Hispanic at 72.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.8%) and White (9.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Febe most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Febe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.4% (592 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Febe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Febe a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Febe in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Febe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Febe in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Febe can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Febe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.