Philippine
Feminine given name derived from the Spanish name for the Philippine Islands.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Philippine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Philippine today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Philippine births was 1920 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Philippine. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Philippine. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1920
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#5,545
Tracked since 1897
Popularity
Philippine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Philippine from the 1890s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 16 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Philippine 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 Philippine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Philippine
The given name Philippine is derived from the Latin word "Philippus" which means "lover of horses". It originated from the Greek name "Philippos" which was composed of the words "philos" meaning "lover" and "hippos" meaning "horse".
This name has its roots in ancient Greece, dating back to the 4th century BC. It was a popular name among the upper classes and aristocracy, who were often associated with owning and breeding horses.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Philippine can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a man named Philippos in his writings. The name also appears in various other ancient Greek texts and historical records.
In the Christian tradition, the name Philippine is associated with Saint Philippine Duchesne, a French religious sister and educator who lived from 1769 to 1852. She founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in the United States and played a significant role in the education of young women.
Another notable figure with the name Philippine was Philippine Welser, a German noblewoman who lived from 1527 to 1580. She was the wife of Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria and played an influential role in the Habsburg court.
In the literary world, Philippine de Porcellet was a French noblewoman and writer who lived from 1508 to 1590. She is known for her poetry and her contributions to the literary salons of the Renaissance era.
Another historical figure with the name Philippine was Philippine of Guelders, who lived from 1467 to 1547. She was a Duchess of Lorraine and played a significant role in the political and religious landscape of the region during the 16th century.
Philippine Engelhard was a German mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1756 to 1831. She made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and was one of the first women to be appointed as a professor of mathematics in Germany.
People
Philippine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Philippine 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
Philippine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Philippine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Philippine 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 - US residents.
Is Philippine a common name?
We classify Philippine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Philippine most popular?
The single biggest year for Philippine was 1920, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Philippine is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Philippine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Philippine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Philippine 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 Philippine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Philippine 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 Philippine 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Philippine?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.