Philly
A diminutive form of the personal name Phyllis, derived from Greek and meaning "leafy, verdant".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Philly. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Philly today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Philly births was 1995 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Philly. 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 Philly. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1995
5 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
1995 SSA rank
#9,923
Tracked since 1995
Census
Philly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 149 people with the first name Philly, which placed it at #45,514 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
#45,514
National first-name rank
People counted
149
149 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
32.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Philly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Philly is White at 32.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.8%) and Hispanic (22.1%). 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 Philly 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 Philly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White32.9% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander22.8% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino22.1% · 33
- Black or African American18.8% · 28
- Two or more races3.4% · 5
Popularity
Philly: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Philly 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 Philly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Philly
The name Philly is derived from the ancient Greek word "philos," meaning "beloved" or "dear friend." Its origins can be traced back to the classical Greek civilization, which flourished between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD.
In ancient Greek mythology, Philos was one of the sons of the god Hermes and the nymph Driope. He was revered as a symbol of friendship and loyalty, traits that were highly valued in Greek society. The name Philly was often given to children as a reflection of these virtues and the hope that they would grow up to be cherished companions.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Philly can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who lived between 46 and 120 AD. In his biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, he mentions a man named Philly of Thasos, a philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century BC.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Philly. In the 5th century AD, Philly of Samos was a renowned architect who designed the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, now known as Istanbul. This architectural marvel, with its iconic dome and intricate mosaics, remains one of the most impressive structures of Byzantine architecture.
During the Renaissance period, Philly Brunelleschi (1377-1446) was an Italian architect, sculptor, and goldsmith who is widely regarded as a founding father of Renaissance architecture. His innovative designs and engineering feats, such as the construction of the iconic dome of the Florence Cathedral, revolutionized the field of architecture and paved the way for the artistic and cultural rebirth of the era.
In the realm of literature, Philly Massinger (1583-1640) was an English playwright and poet who wrote numerous tragedies and comedies during the Jacobean period. His plays, including "The Roman Actor" and "A New Way to Pay Old Debts," explored themes of power, corruption, and social commentary, reflecting the complexities of 17th-century English society.
More recently, Philly Ramone (1951-2004) was an American musician and guitarist best known for his tenure with the influential punk rock band The Ramones. As a founding member of the group, his iconic guitar riffs and stage presence helped shape the punk rock sound and culture, leaving an indelible mark on the history of rock music.
Philly Lyman (1917-1988) was an American jazz musician and bandleader who pioneered the genre of Latin jazz in the 1940s and 1950s. His innovative fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with traditional jazz styles earned him widespread acclaim and influenced countless musicians across genres.
People
Philly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Philly 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
Philly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Philly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Philly 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Philly a common name?
We classify Philly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Philly most popular?
The single biggest year for Philly was 1995, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Philly is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Philly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 149 people with the name Philly, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,514 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 Philly 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 Philly?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Philly on both sides of the split. Of the 149 people counted with this name, 108 were male (72.5%) and 41 were female (27.5%). 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 Philly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Philly is White at 32.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.8%) and Hispanic (22.1%). 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 Philly most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Philly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.9% (49 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 Philly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Philly a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Philly 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 Philly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Philly 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 Philly 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 Philly as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.