How Many People Are Named Phil?
An estimated 11,374 people in the United States have the first name Phil. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 66 years old, and Phil peaked in popularity in 1959 with 677 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Phil as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Phil paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Phil is overwhelmingly male, 72 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 66, Phil is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1970.
Estimated Living Americans
11,374
About 1 in 30,135 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
66
years old
Peak Year
1959
677 births
Total Registered
20,098
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Phil
Phil is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 20,098 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Phil as a male name
Ranked #11,936 in 2024
6 male births in 2024
Peak: 1959 (677 births)
Phil as a female name
Ranked #7,068 in 1960
5 female births in 1960
Peak: 1923 (7 births)
Phil: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Phil span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 4,590 babies were registered. Phil has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Phil by Decade
How has Phil tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Phil by State
Birth registrations for Phil span all 40 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Illinois. The lowest are in Maine, Montana, Connecticut. On average, about 381 Phils were registered per state.
Phil + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Phil as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Phil
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Phil: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Phil?
We estimate approximately 11,374 people named Phil are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 30,135 Americans share this first name.
Is Phil a common name?
Phil is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 97.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 20,098 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Phil most popular?
Phil reached peak popularity in 1959, when 677 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Phil is approximately 66 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Phil a male name?
Phil is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Phil Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Phil Smith, Phil Johnson, Phil Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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