Phelps

Boys' name

Literal meaning not recorded

Phelps has been given to 59 babies in the U.S. since 1918. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1929, with 7 recorded.

Babies named Phelps, 2014

1 in 741,000

Phelps over time, 1880–2025

Boys

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Phelps: meaning, origin, and history

Literal meaning not recorded

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Phelps means

Phelps is a given name.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Philip + genitive (mainly patronymic) suffix -s.

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Phelps is used in English.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Phelps is pronounced /fɛlps/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 59 boys were recorded with the name Phelps between 1918 and 2014. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1929; its best national rank was #3,466 in 1929.

How common is Phelps?

Phelps had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2014, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2014: 1 in 741,000; 5 of 3,706,812 births
Among boys only: 1 in 384,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2014: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 513,874 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Phelps 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 2014 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 513,874 children born in 2014 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Phelps. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Phelpss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Phelps was born before 1930 — so the typical Phelps is around 95 today.

Median birth year: 1930; About 95 years old
Biggest decade: 1920s; 37.3% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 16.9%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 15; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1920s — 37.3% of all recorded uses (22).

Is Phelps 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: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1929 (7)
Years since peak: 96; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Shifting; 22.6% average annual change
Best rank ever: #3,466; 1929

Spellings of Phelps

Phelps is not the most common spelling — Phelan is, with 90.8% against Phelps's 9.2%.

Phelan90.8%581
Phelps9.2%59

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.

Phelps by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #3,466; 1929
Peak year: 1929; 7 that year
First recorded: 1918
Last recorded: 2014
All-time count: 59
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Phelps

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

Phelix Phenyx Phenix Phelan Pheonix Pheng Pheonyx Pheenix Phenious

Sibling names for Phelps

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

Marvel Socorro Ofelia Edward Billy Donald Ardith Bennie

For a brother

Normand Frances Carrol Sanford Jules Bud Rolland Gaylord

Explore around Phelps

Top names of 1929, Phelps's peak year The 1920s in full Other names that peaked in 1929 Boys' names starting with P