Philo
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "lover of wisdom".
Name Census estimates that about 184 living Americans carry the first name Philo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Philo today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Philo births was 2018 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Philo. 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
184
~ 1 in 1,862,795 Americans
Peak year
2018
13 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,141
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Philo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Philo from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 80 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Philo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Philo 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 Philo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Philos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Philo
The name Philo is derived from the Greek word "philos", meaning "beloved" or "dear". It has its roots in ancient Greek culture and can be traced back to the classical period.
Philo was a common name among philosophers and scholars in ancient Greece. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived from approximately 20 BC to 50 AD. He was known for his attempts to harmonize Greek philosophy with Jewish Scripture.
Another notable figure named Philo was Philo of Byzantium, a Greek engineer and writer who lived in the 3rd century BC. He is credited with writing several works on mechanics and military technology, including a treatise on pneumatics.
In the Christian tradition, Philo was the name of an early bishop of Colossae, mentioned in the New Testament book of Colossians. He is believed to have lived in the 1st century AD.
During the Renaissance period, Philo was a popular name among humanist scholars and intellectuals. One such individual was Philo of Albizzi, an Italian humanist and diplomat who lived in the 15th century.
In the modern era, Philo has been used as a given name, although it is not as common as it once was. One notable bearer of the name was Philo T. Farnsworth, the American inventor credited with the creation of the first fully functional electronic television system in the 1920s.
People
Philo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Philo 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
Philo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Philo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 184 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Philo 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 1,862,795 US residents.
Is Philo a common name?
We classify Philo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Philo most popular?
The single biggest year for Philo was 2018, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Philo is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Philo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Philo 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.