Phil

Where Phil comes from

Phil hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #526 among boys — 12 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1947
    Peak, #260
    659 babies named Phil — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1951
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #400.
  4. 1992
    Phil Jones born
    English association football player, born 1992
  5. 2000
    Phil Foden born
    English footballer
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Phil Foden · English footballer, born 2000
  • Phil Jones · English association football player, born 1992, born 1992
  • Phil Jagielka · English association football player, born 1982
  • Phil Hill · American racing driver, 1927–2008
  • Phil Neville · English association football player and manager, born 1977

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.