Phylliss
A feminine name of Ancient Greek origin meaning "green bough or frond".
Name Census estimates that about 264 living Americans carry the first name Phylliss. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Phylliss today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Phylliss births was 1950 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Phylliss. 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
- • The typical person named Phylliss is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Phylliss' were born before 1963.
People living today
264
~ 1 in 1,298,312 Americans
Peak year
1950
25 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1970 SSA rank
#7,732
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Phylliss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Phylliss from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 151 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Phylliss 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 Phylliss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Phylliss' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Phylliss
The name Phylliss is derived from the Ancient Greek name Phyllis, which means "green bough" or "foliage." It is believed to have originated in the 5th century BC as a reference to the nymph Phyllis, who was transformed into an almond tree in Greek mythology.
In Greek mythology, Phyllis was a beautiful young woman from Thrace who fell in love with Demophon, the son of Theseus and Phaedra. When Demophon had to leave to attend to some affairs in Athens, he promised Phyllis that he would return. However, he failed to keep his promise, and Phyllis, heartbroken and consumed by grief, eventually withered away and transformed into an almond tree.
The earliest recorded use of the name Phylliss can be traced back to the 16th century, when it appeared in various literary works and historical records. One notable example is Phyllis, a pastoral drama written by Thomas Chaloner in 1592, which popularized the name in England.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Phylliss. One of the earliest recorded was Phyllis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784), an African-American poet who was the first African-American author to publish a book of poetry. Her work, "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," was published in 1773 and garnered significant acclaim.
Another famous Phylliss was Phyllis McGinley (1905-1978), an American author and poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1961 for her book "Times Three: Selected Verse from Three Decades." She was also known for her light verse and children's books.
In the world of sports, Phylliss Dorinda Shand (1916-2006) was a British tennis player who won the Wimbledon ladies' singles title in 1939. She was also a finalist at the U.S. National Championships (now the U.S. Open) in 1938 and 1939.
Phylliss Calvert (1915-2002) was a British actress who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career. Some of her notable works include "Notorious" (1946), "The Bride Goes Wild" (1948), and "The Spy in Black" (1939).
Lastly, Phylliss Perlman (1922-2007) was an American author and journalist who wrote several books on various topics, including parenting, education, and women's issues. Her works include "The Wonderful World of Childhood" (1968) and "The Book of Kids" (1977).
People
Phylliss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Phylliss 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
Phylliss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Phylliss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 264 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Phylliss 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 1,298,312 US residents.
Is Phylliss a common name?
We classify Phylliss as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 597 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Phylliss most popular?
The single biggest year for Phylliss was 1950, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Phylliss is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Phylliss a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Phylliss 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.