Philipp
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "lover of horses".
Name Census estimates that about 855 living Americans carry the first name Philipp. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Philipp today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Philipp births was 1997 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Philipp. 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.
People living today
855
~ 1 in 400,882 Americans
Peak year
1997
25 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,774
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Philipp: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Philipp from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 168 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Philipp 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 Philipp during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Philipps live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Florida, New York, California recorded the most babies named Philipp, while California, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Philipp
The name Philipp is derived from the Greek name Philippos, which means "friend of horses" or "lover of horses". It combines the Greek words philos meaning "friend" or "lover" and hippos meaning "horse".
The name Philippos was common in ancient Greece, with the earliest recorded use dating back to the 5th century BC. It was borne by several notable figures in Greek history, including the philosopher Philippides and the Macedonian king Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great.
In the New Testament of the Bible, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ was named Philippos, often anglicized as Philip. This helped popularize the name among early Christians.
During the Roman Empire, the name Philippus was used, and it was later adopted into various Romance languages, including French (Philippe) and Spanish (Felipe). In the Germanic languages, it became Philipp or Philip.
One of the most famous historical figures with this name was Philip the Arab, who ruled as Roman emperor from 244 to 249 AD. He was born Marcus Julius Philippus in modern-day Syria around 204 AD.
Another notable Philipp was Saint Philip the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, who lived in the 1st century AD. He is venerated in the Christian faith.
In the 12th century, Philip II of France, known as Philip Augustus, reigned as King of France from 1180 to 1223. He was a prominent figure during the Third Crusade and is remembered for his military victories and administrative reforms.
Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) was a German Renaissance humanist, reformer, and collaborator of Martin Luther in the Protestant Reformation. He played a significant role in the development of Lutheran doctrine and education.
Philipp Lenard (1862-1947) was a German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties.
People
Philipp + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Philipp 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
Philipp: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Philipp?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 855 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Philipp 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 400,882 US residents.
Is Philipp a common name?
We classify Philipp as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 981 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Philipp most popular?
The single biggest year for Philipp was 1997, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Philipp is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Philipp a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Philipp 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.
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.