Philip

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Filip in PL Poland, CZ Czechia, HR Croatia and 3 more, Phillip in US United States, AU Australia, BR Brazil and 2 more, Philippe in FR France, BE Belgium, ES Spain and Philipp in DE Germany, AT Austria, CH Switzerland.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Philip is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Swahili given name144K records spelled Philip5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Kenya, United States, Nigeria, Philippines

  Languages: Swahili, Southern Sotho, Kinyarwanda

  Also written Phìlip

• Hindi given name96K records spelled Philip21 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, South Africa

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Bangla

  Also written Phillip, Filip, ফিলিপ, Philippe, Philipp

• a separate given name74K records spelled Philip3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden

  Also written Phïlïp, Philíp

• Malayalam surname14K records spelled Philip23 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States

  Languages: Malayalam, Tamil

  Also written Philp, Phillip, Pilip, ഫിലിപ്പ്, Philipp

84 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Philip is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• The name Philip is a classic, masculine name of Greek origin meaning "lover of horses." Associated with royalty and leadership since ancient times, the name also has a strong biblical connection to Philip the Evangelist, a figure known for his service, wisdom, and missionary zeal. It's a timeless name that suggests strength, friendliness, and a noble character.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• A classic and enduring name of Greek origin, Philip means "lover of horses." It has royal and biblical associations, belonging to one of Jesus's twelve apostles. The name suggests a friendly, noble, and inquisitive character.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Philip comes from the Greek name Φίλιππος (Philippos), which means "lover of horses" or "friend of horses," derived from the words φίλος (philos), meaning "friend, lover," and ἵππος (hippos), meaning "horse".

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Philip has ancient Greek roots, meaning "lover of horses." It is a classic name with royal and biblical connections, borne by a son of Herod the Great who ruled as a tetrarch during the time of Jesus.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Philip is of Greek origin (Philippos) and means "friend of horses" or "horse-lover," from the words philos ("friend, lover") and hippos ("horse").

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Philip II of Macedonb. 385GRKing of Macedon from 359 to 336 BC
• Wilhelm Liebknechtb. 1826DEnot in their usual nameGerman journalist, writer and socialist politician (1826–1900)
• Philip Johnsonb. 1906USAmerican architect (1906–2005)
• Philip Warren Andersonb. 1923USAmerican physicist (1923-2020)
• Philip K. Dickb. 1928USAmerican science fiction author (1928–1982)
• Philip Rothb. 1933USAmerican novelist (1933–2018)
• Philip Kaufmanb. 1936USAmerican film director, screenwriter and film producer
• Phil Collinsb. 1951GBnot in their usual nameEnglish drummer, singer, and songwriter (born 1951)
• Philip Seymour Hoffmanb. 1967USAmerican actor (1967–2014)
• James Milnerb. 1986GBnot in their usual nameEnglish association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,380 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Philip?

We estimate roughly 1.2 million people bear Philip (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Philip have the most bearers?

Philip is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled philip.

Where is Philip most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Philip is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 106 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Philip compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Philip is the 49th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Philip a male or female name?

Philip is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Philip mean?

Recorded meaning: From the male personal name Philip, ultimately from Greek Philippos, literally ‘lover of horses’.