Phillicia
Feminine name of Latin origin meaning "lover of horses".
Name Census estimates that about 32 living Americans carry the first name Phillicia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Phillicia today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Phillicia births was 1991 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Phillicia. 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 Phillicia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
32
~ 1 in 10,711,073 Americans
Peak year
1991
7 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1993 SSA rank
#12,987
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Phillicia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Phillicia from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 21 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Phillicia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Phillicia 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 Phillicia 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 Phillicia
The name Phillicia has its roots in Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, derived from the masculine name Philippos, which means "lover of horses." This name was popular among the nobility and upper classes, particularly those with a passion for equestrian pursuits.
In ancient times, the name Philippos was borne by several notable figures, including the Macedonian king Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great. Another famous bearer was Philip the Apostle, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
The feminine form, Phillicia, emerged during the late Roman period and gained popularity in various regions influenced by Greco-Roman culture, including parts of Europe and the Middle East. It was often bestowed upon daughters of noble families as a symbol of refinement and grace.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Phillicia can be found in the writings of the 5th-century Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, who mentioned a noblewoman from Constantinople bearing this name.
Throughout history, several notable women have carried the name Phillicia. In the 9th century, Phillicia of Marseille was a prominent abbess and scholar who established a renowned convent and school for women in southern France. She lived from approximately 795 to 867 AD.
During the Renaissance period, Phillicia Gonzaga (1472-1542) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her influential role in the cultural life of the Gonzaga court in Mantua.
In the 17th century, Phillicia Beaumont (1608-1679) was an English writer and playwright whose works explored themes of love, betrayal, and the societal challenges faced by women of her time.
Phillicia von Anhalt (1793-1865), a German aristocrat and philanthropist, dedicated her life to supporting various charitable causes and establishing schools for underprivileged children in her region.
While the name Phillicia has undergone various spellings and pronunciations across different cultures and time periods, its association with nobility, grace, and a love for horses has endured throughout its long and illustrious history.
People
Phillicia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Phillicia 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
Phillicia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Phillicia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 32 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Phillicia 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 10,711,073 US residents.
Is Phillicia a common name?
We classify Phillicia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 34 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Phillicia most popular?
The single biggest year for Phillicia was 1991, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Phillicia is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Phillicia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Phillicia 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.
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.