Phillippe
Lover of horses, from the Greek elements philos "lover" and hippos "horse".
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Phillippe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Phillippe today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Phillippe births was 1989 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Phillippe. 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
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
1989
13 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,536
Tracked since 1930
Popularity
Phillippe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Phillippe from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Phillippe 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 Phillippe 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 Phillippe
The name Phillippe has its origins in the Greek language and culture, deriving from the Greek name Philippos. It is a masculine given name that was popular in ancient Greece and later spread throughout Europe. The name Philippos is derived from the Greek words "philos" meaning "lover of" and "hippos" meaning "horse". Thus, the name can be interpreted as "lover of horses" or "fond of horses".
In ancient Greece, the name Philippos was commonly given to individuals who were passionate about horses or had a connection to equestrian activities. It was a popular name among the aristocratic classes, as horses were highly valued and associated with wealth and status. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a Philippos of Crotona, a Greek colonist in Italy, in the 5th century BC.
The name gained significant prominence in the 4th century BC when it was borne by Philip II of Macedon (382-336 BC), the father of Alexander the Great. Philip II was a powerful ruler who transformed the Kingdom of Macedon into a formidable military force and laid the foundations for his son's subsequent conquests. The name Philippos became closely associated with this illustrious Macedonian dynasty.
As the influence of Greek culture spread throughout the Mediterranean region and beyond, the name Philippos also gained popularity in other parts of the ancient world. In the Roman Empire, the name was adapted to the Latin form Philippus and was used by several notable figures, including the Roman emperor Marcus Julius Philippus (204-249 AD), also known as Philip the Arab.
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the name Phillippe (with various spellings) continued to be used in Europe, particularly in France and other French-speaking regions. Some notable historical figures bearing this name include Philippe IV (1268-1314), known as Philippe le Bel, a king of France during the late 13th and early 14th centuries, and Philippe de Commines (1447-1511), a renowned French historian and diplomat.
In the modern era, the name Phillippe has maintained its popularity, especially in French-speaking countries. Several notable individuals have borne this name, including Philippe Pétain (1856-1951), a French military leader and controversial political figure during World War II, and Philippe Petit (born 1949), a French high-wire artist famous for his daring walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
People
Phillippe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Phillippe 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
Phillippe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Phillippe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Phillippe 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Phillippe a common name?
We classify Phillippe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 218 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Phillippe most popular?
The single biggest year for Phillippe was 1989, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Phillippe is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Phillippe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Phillippe 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.