Phila

Girls' name

Feminine form of Philo

Phila has been given to 63 babies in the U.S. since 1889. 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 1917, with 7 recorded.

Babies named Phila, 1954

1 in 796,000

Phila over time, 1880–2025

Girls

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Phila: meaning, origin, and history

Feminine form of Philo

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Phila means

Phila is a feminine form of Philo.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Phila is used in Ancient Greek.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Phila → Philo. The family’s meaning is “lover, friend”, recorded in the naming reference for Philo.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Philo.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 63 girls were recorded with the name Phila between 1889 and 1954. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1917; its best national rank was #1,401 in 1893.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

U.S. Social Security Administration: national name data and limitations

How common is Phila?

Phila had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1954, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1954: 1 in 796,000; 5 of 3,979,464 births
Among girls only: 1 in 388,000; <0.01% of girls
Rank, 1954: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 551,672 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Phila sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1954 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 551,672 children born in 1954 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Phila. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Philas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Phila was born before 1921 — so the typical Phila is around 104 today.

Median birth year: 1921; About 104 years old
Biggest decade: 1910s; 20.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 34.9%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 5; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1910s — 20.6% of all recorded uses (13).

Is Phila 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 1917 (7)
Years since peak: 108; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Not enough data; Too few years
Best rank ever: #1,401; 1893

Spellings of Phila

Phila is not the most common spelling — Paula is, with 26.2% against Phila's <0.01%.

Paula26.2%280,856
Sheila22.3%238,774
Mila7.9%84,489
Hilda7.6%81,022
Lila7.1%76,493
Leila5.2%55,436
Laila4.1%43,484
Ila2.3%25,060

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.

Phila by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #1,401; 1893
Peak year: 1917; 7 that year
First recorded: 1889
Last recorded: 1954
All-time count: 63
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Phila

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

Zeila Vaila Saila Aaila Haila Alila Azaila Anaila Xaila Phil Emila Miila Dila Rutila Kelila Faila Nyila Teuila Coila Jeila Seila Yeila Phiona Adila

Sibling names for Phila

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

Albina Nelle Orpha Antonette Harriette Winnifred Maurine Johnie

For a brother

Regis Meyer Rosario Lyman Winfield Dorsey Granville Abe

Explore around Phila

Top names of 1917, Phila's peak year The 1910s in full Other names that peaked in 1893 Girls' names starting with P