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Rare

Phylicia

A feminine name derived from Greek, meaning "lover of nature".

Name Census estimates that about 2,280 living Americans carry the first name Phylicia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Phylicia today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Phylicia births was 1987 (289 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Phylicia. 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

2.3K

~ 1 in 150,331 Americans

Peak year

1987

289 babies that year

Average age

35

years old

2014 SSA rank

#16,071

Tracked since 1968

Popularity

Phylicia: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Phylicia from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,203 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

072145217289197019751980198519901995200020052010

Decades

Phylicia 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 Phylicia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1960s01111
1970s01111
1980s01,2031,203
1990s0962962
2000s0159159
2010s03535

Geography

Where Phylicias live

The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Phylicia, while Washington, Oklahoma, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.

Origin

Meaning and history of Phylicia

The given name Phylicia has its origins in the ancient Greek language. It is derived from the Greek word "phylax," which means "guardian" or "protector." This name likely emerged during the classical period of ancient Greek civilization, which spanned from the 5th to 4th centuries BCE.

Phylicia was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Greece, but it did appear in some historical records and texts. One notable example is the Greek philosopher Phylicius, who lived in the 4th century BCE and was a student of Aristotle. He wrote several philosophical treatises, although only fragments of his works have survived.

The name Phylicia experienced a resurgence in popularity during the Byzantine era, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th century CE. During this period, the Byzantine Empire was heavily influenced by Greek culture and language, and many Greek names were revived and used among the aristocracy and ruling classes.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Phylicia can be found in the "Chronicon Paschale," a 7th-century Byzantine chronicle that documented events from the creation of the world to the reign of Emperor Heraclius (610-641 CE). The chronicle mentions a woman named Phylicia who lived in Constantinople during the 6th century CE.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Phylicia. One of the most famous was Phylicia Rashad, an American actress born in 1948. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the popular television sitcom "The Cosby Show," which aired from 1984 to 1992. Rashad has won numerous awards for her acting, including two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.

Another notable Phylicia was Phylicia Arters-Douglass, an American singer and songwriter born in 1971. She was a member of the R&B group Intro and later pursued a solo career, releasing several albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In the field of sports, Phylicia George was a Canadian basketball player who represented Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She played professionally in several leagues, including the WNBA and various European leagues.

Phylicia Munn was an American author and illustrator of children's books, including "Zekmet the Stone Carver" and "The First Strawberries," both published in the early 1900s. She was known for her detailed illustrations and stories that often incorporated elements of Native American folklore and culture.

Phylicia Crichton was a British author and journalist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She wrote several novels and non-fiction works, including "The Peril of Change" and "The Scar That Tripled," both published in the early 1900s.

People

Phylicia + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Phylicia 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

Phylicia: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Phylicia?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,280 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Phylicia 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 150,331 US residents.

Is Phylicia a common name?

We classify Phylicia as "Rare". It ranks above 94.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,381 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Phylicia most popular?

The single biggest year for Phylicia was 1987, when 289 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Phylicia is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Phylicia a female name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Phylicia 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.

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