Girl · Greek
Phyllis
Say it: FIL-is
Meaning
From Greek phyllis 'foliage, leafy'.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
A stock name in Greek and Latin pastoral poetry, used in English from the 16th century and common in the early 20th.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1920s
In the United States
- 323,304 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1929, about 1 in 140 girls
- 20 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- The Colonial Americas1500 to 1800
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Phillis, Phyllida
| Greek | Fyllis |
|---|---|
| Italian | Fillide |
Famous bearers
- Phillis Wheatley, African American poet
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Ancient Greek literature and history (Homer, Herodotus, Plutarch and others)
- Well-known works of literature
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.