Felis
A name of Latin origin meaning "cat".
Name Census estimates that about 29 living Americans carry the first name Felis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Felis today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Felis births was 1927 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Felis. 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 Felis is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Felis' were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Felis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
29
~ 1 in 11,819,115 Americans
Peak year
1927
11 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1983 SSA rank
#4,900
Tracked since 1913
Census
Felis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 246 people with the first name Felis, which placed it at #33,566 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
#33,566
National first-name rank
People counted
246
246 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
69.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Felis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Felis is Hispanic at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.7%) and White (7.7%). 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 Felis 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 Felis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino69.5% · 171
- Black or African American20.7% · 51
- White7.7% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Felis
Felis is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 104 total registrations, 62 (59.6%) were male and 42 (40.4%) were female.
Felis as a male name
- Ranked #6,589 in 1983
- 5 male births in 1983
- Peak: 1948 (9 births)
Felis as a female name
- Ranked #4,900 in 1943
- 5 female births in 1943
- Peak: 1926 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Felis on both sides of the split. Of the 241 people counted with this name, 125 were male (51.9%) and 116 were female (48.1%).
Popularity
Felis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Felis from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 43 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Felis 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 Felis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Felis' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Felis
The given name Felis has its roots in the Latin language, originating from the word "felis," which means "cat." This name is believed to have been derived from the Proto-Indo-European word "per-ək," meaning "to strike" or "to dig," referencing the feline's ability to hunt and strike prey with its paws.
In ancient Roman mythology, Felis was often associated with the goddess Diana, the huntress and protector of animals. The name was commonly given to children born under the astrological sign of Leo, as the lion was seen as a symbol of strength and courage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Felis dates back to the 1st century AD, when a Roman soldier named Felis Maximus was mentioned in historical texts for his bravery in battle. In the 3rd century, Saint Felis of Trier, a Christian martyr, was known for her unwavering faith and willingness to sacrifice her life for her beliefs.
During the Middle Ages, the name Felis became less common, but it resurfaced in the Renaissance period. Felis Cavendish, an English philosopher and writer born in 1567, was renowned for his works on natural philosophy and his contributions to the scientific revolution.
In the 18th century, Felis Austen, an English novelist and playwright born in 1775, gained recognition for her satirical plays that portrayed the upper-class society of her time. Her works were praised for their wit and social commentary.
Moving into the 19th century, Felis Nightingale, born in 1820, was a pioneering English nurse who played a crucial role in reforming nursing practices and establishing modern nursing education. She is widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing.
One of the most notable figures with the name Felis was Felis Curie, the Polish physicist and chemist born in 1867. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and is remembered for her groundbreaking work on radioactivity and the discovery of radium and polonium.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who carried the name Felis, showcasing its enduring presence and the diverse backgrounds and achievements associated with it.
People
Felis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Felis 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
Felis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Felis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Felis 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 11,819,115 US residents.
Is Felis a common name?
We classify Felis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Felis most popular?
The single biggest year for Felis was 1927, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Felis is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Felis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 246 people with the name Felis, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,566 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 Felis 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 Felis?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Felis on both sides of the split. Of the 241 people counted with this name, 125 were male (51.9%) and 116 were female (48.1%). 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 Felis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Felis is Hispanic at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.7%) and White (7.7%). 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 Felis most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Felis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.5% (171 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 Felis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Felis a male name?
Yes, 59.6% of people registered as Felis in the SSA data are male. 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 Felis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Felis 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 Felis 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 have the name Felis?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Felis, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.