Phelan

#13,398 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Descendant of Faolán

Phelan has been given to 649 babies in the U.S. since 1949. In 2025 it ranked #13,398 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1996, with 26 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 90% boys, 10% girls all-time.

Babies named Phelan, 2025

1 in 663,000

Phelan over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Phelan over time

In 2025, Phelan went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19492025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Phelan: meaning, origin, and history

Descendant of Faolán

Irish

What Phelan means

Phelan means “descendant of Faolán”, associated with Faoláin.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Faoláin (“descendant of Faolán”), a hypocoristic form of faol (“wolf”). Doublet of Whelan.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Phelan (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Phelan is used in English. Its origins include Irish.

Phelan comes through Irish Ó Faoláin.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Ó Faoláin.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Phelan is pronounced /ˈfiːlən/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 581 boys were recorded with the name Phelan between 1949 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 26 in 1996; its best national rank was #2,886 in 1996.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #7,917 in 2020 to #13,398 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #7,403 in 2015 to #13,398 in 2025.

In the United States, 68 girls were recorded with the name Phelan between 1982 and 2017. Its highest annual count was 9 in 1999; its best national rank was #10,111 in 1999.

How common is Phelan?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 663,000; 5 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 342,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #13,398; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 459,581 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Phelan sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,581 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Phelan. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Phelans were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Phelan was born before 1998 — so the typical Phelan is around 27 today.

Median birth year: 1998; About 27 years old
Biggest decade: 1990s; 28.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 43.0%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 575; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1990s — 28.1% of all recorded uses (163).

Is Phelan rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: −3,752; Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago: −5,481; Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago: −5,995; Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago: 0.45×; Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak: 19.2%; Peak was 1996 (26)
Years since peak: 29; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 35.7% average annual change
Best rank ever: #2,886; 1996

Spellings of Phelan

Phelan is not the most common spelling — Keelan is, with 18.4% against Phelan's 3.0%.

Keelan18.4%3,591
Elan18.1%3,533
Helen15.9%3,105
Caelan12.6%2,470
Kelan9.3%1,810
Kaelan7.8%1,520
Lelan4.7%924
Khylan3.8%734

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Phelan around the world

Where Phelan ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

England & Wales
1997–2015
#3,004
in 2015

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0.

Phelan by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #13,398
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Down 5,481
Best rank ever: #2,886; 1996
Peak year: 1996; 26 that year
First recorded: 1949
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 581
Count in 2025: 5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #10,111; 1999
Peak year: 1999; 9 that year
First recorded: 1982
Last recorded: 2017
All-time count: 68
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Phelan

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Phenix Pheonix Phelix Kailan Leelan Ruslan Zaylan Rhylan Khylan Dallan Kaylan Kallan Daelan Taylan Conlan Arslan Kealan Keylan Skylan Oaklan Marlan Nylan Brylan Decklan

Sibling names for Phelan

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Breann Salena Allyssa Danyelle Breonna Halie Cydney Sydni

For a brother

Elizabeth Jarod Samual Coty Brandan Trever Mitchel Madison

Explore around Phelan

Top names of 1996, Phelan's peak year The 1990s in full Other names that peaked in 1996 Boys' names starting with P