Phillis
A feminine name derived from the Greek word "philos," meaning beloved or loved one.
Name Census estimates that about 1,751 living Americans carry the first name Phillis. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Phillis today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Phillis births was 1949 (118 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Phillis. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Phillis is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Phillis' were born before 1967.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 195,748 Americans
Peak year
1949
118 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1924 SSA rank
#4,233
Tracked since 1882
Census
Phillis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,777 people with the first name Phillis, which placed it at #5,932 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
#5,932
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,777 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Phillis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Phillis is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.2%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Phillis 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 Phillis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.9% · 1,775
- Black or African American27.2% · 755
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 88
- Two or more races2.6% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 38
Gender
Gender distribution for Phillis
Out of the 3,683 babies given the name Phillis since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Phillis as a male name
- Ranked #4,233 in 1924
- 6 male births in 1924
- Peak: 1924 (6 births)
Phillis as a female name
- Ranked #11,523 in 2000
- 8 female births in 2000
- Peak: 1949 (118 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Phillis leans strongly female. 2,742 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 41 male bearers (1.5%).
Popularity
Phillis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Phillis from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 825 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Phillis 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 Phillis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Phillis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Texas, Alabama, Missouri recorded the most babies named Phillis, while New Jersey, Maryland, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Phillis
The name Phillis originates from the Greek language and has its roots in the word "philos," meaning "lover" or "friend." It was a popular name in ancient Greece and was often associated with love, friendship, and affection.
The earliest recorded use of the name Phillis dates back to the 5th century BC, when it appeared in ancient Greek literature and historical records. One notable example is Phillis, a slave who was renowned for her exceptional poetic talent and was eventually granted her freedom by her master.
During the Renaissance period, the name Phillis gained popularity in Europe, particularly in England and France. One of the most famous bearers of this name was Phillis Wheatley, an African American poet who was born in West Africa around 1753 and later enslaved in Boston. Despite facing many challenges, Wheatley became the first African American author to publish a book of poetry in 1773.
Another notable figure with the name Phillis was Phillis Shand Allfrey, a writer and politician from Dominica who served as the country's first female governor-general from 1979 to 1988. She was born in 1924 and played a significant role in shaping the literary and political landscape of the Caribbean region.
In the 19th century, the name Phillis was also used by Phillis Omer-Cooper, a British artist and illustrator who was born in 1892. She was renowned for her illustrations in children's books and collaborated with renowned authors such as Beatrix Potter.
A more recent example is Phillis Sheppard, an American athlete who was born in 1935. She was a track and field sprinter and held world records in various events, including the 100-meter dash and the 4x100-meter relay. Sheppard was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1987.
Throughout history, the name Phillis has been associated with literary talents, artistic expression, and athletic achievements. Although its popularity has waned in recent times, it remains a unique and meaningful name with a rich historical legacy.
People
Phillis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Phillis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Phillis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Phillis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,751 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Phillis 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 195,748 US residents.
Is Phillis a common name?
We classify Phillis as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,683 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Phillis most popular?
The single biggest year for Phillis was 1949, when 118 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Phillis is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Phillis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,777 people with the name Phillis, or 0.92 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,932 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 Phillis 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 Phillis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Phillis leans strongly female. 2,742 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 41 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Phillis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Phillis is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.2%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Phillis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Phillis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.9% (1,775 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 Phillis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Phillis a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Phillis 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 Phillis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Phillis 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 Phillis 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 many people are named Phillis?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Phillis at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.