Phylisha
A feminine name of English origin, meaning "lover of foals".
Name Census estimates that about 129 living Americans carry the first name Phylisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Phylisha today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Phylisha births was 1989 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Phylisha. 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
129
~ 1 in 2,657,010 Americans
Peak year
1989
19 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2000 SSA rank
#16,927
Tracked since 1972
Census
Phylisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 162 people with the first name Phylisha, which placed it at #43,512 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
#43,512
National first-name rank
People counted
162
162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Phylisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Phylisha is Black at 58.6%. The next largest groups are White (21.0%) and Hispanic (13.0%). 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 Phylisha 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 Phylisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.6% · 95
- White21.0% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino13.0% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 6
- Two or more races3.7% · 6
Popularity
Phylisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Phylisha from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 79 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Phylisha 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 Phylisha 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 Phylisha
Phylisha is a unique and intriguing name with a rich history that spans across multiple cultures and linguistic traditions. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Greek language, where it is believed to have derived from the word "phylax," meaning "guardian" or "protector."
In ancient Greek mythology, the name Phylisha was often associated with the goddess Athena, the patron of wisdom, courage, and strategic warfare. It was believed that those bearing this name were under the divine protection of the goddess, bestowing upon them qualities of intelligence, strength, and resilience.
As the name journey through various civilizations, it underwent subtle transformations in spelling and pronunciation. In the Roman era, the name took on variations such as "Phylicia" and "Phylissa," reflecting the influence of Latin phonetics on the original Greek root.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Phylisha can be found in the writings of the renowned Greek historian Herodotus, who documented the exploits of a brave Spartan warrior bearing this moniker during the Persian Wars in the 5th century BCE.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Phylisha gained popularity among various European noble families, particularly in regions influenced by the Byzantine Empire. Notable figures from this era include Phylisha of Antioch, a 12th-century noblewoman renowned for her philanthropy and patronage of the arts.
As the Renaissance dawned, the name Phylisha experienced a resurgence in popularity, gracing the lives of remarkable individuals such as Phylisha Contarini, a 16th-century Venetian poetess whose works celebrated the beauty of nature and the human spirit.
In more recent times, the name Phylisha has continued to captivate and inspire. One notable bearer was Phylisha Rashad, an acclaimed American actress born in 1948, who gained critical acclaim for her performances on stage and screen, earning numerous accolades, including a Tony Award.
Another prominent figure was Phylisha Wheatley, an 18th-century African-American poet who defied the societal norms of her time, becoming the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry in 1773.
The name Phylisha has also been embraced by various cultures around the world, transcending linguistic and geographical boundaries. From the vibrant cities of West Africa to the bustling metropolises of Asia, individuals have adopted this name, imbuing it with their own cultural significance and personal narratives.
People
Phylisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Phylisha 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
Phylisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Phylisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 129 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Phylisha 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 2,657,010 US residents.
Is Phylisha a common name?
We classify Phylisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 135 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Phylisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Phylisha was 1989, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Phylisha is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Phylisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 162 people with the name Phylisha, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,512 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 Phylisha 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 Phylisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Phylisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 166 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Phylisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Phylisha is Black at 58.6%. The next largest groups are White (21.0%) and Hispanic (13.0%). 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 Phylisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Phylisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.6% (95 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 Phylisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Phylisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Phylisha 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.
Is Phylisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Phylisha 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 Phylisha 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 Phylisha as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.