Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Phyllis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 323,367
- 871 boys · 322,496 girls
- Most popular year
- 1947
- 9,205 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #12,873 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −44%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 12,873 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 44.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 9,187 in 1947. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 165,949 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Phyllis’s family of names
In English usage, Phyllis shares a linguistic root with the Turkish form FILIZ. Phyllis has a related form in Phillis. Phyllis has a related form in Phylis.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Phyllis has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Phyllis comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Phyllis
- Phyllis DillerAmerican stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist (1917–2012)
- Phyllis SchlaflyAmerican conservative activist (1924-2016)
- Phyllis LoganScottish actressborn 1956
- Phyllis SmithAmerican actressborn 1949
- Phyllis FrancisAmerican sprinterborn 1992
- Phyllis ThaxterAmerican actress (1919–2012)
- Phyllis SomervilleAmerican stage, film and television actress (1943–2020)
- P. C. CastAmerican writer (1960-)
- Phyllis A. WhitneyAmerican writer1903–2008
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Phyllis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jannis
Jannis is a given name from Greek. It is used in German.
>99% girls
Vilia
Vilia is a given name, possibly from Greek. It is used in Italian.
>99% girls
Hedy
“one who is pleasing; delightful; a sweetheart”
>99% girls
Senga
“one who is pure; chaste”
>99% girls
Sandrea
“helper and defender of mankind”
>99% girls
Cathryn
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Thaddea
“of the heart; courageous” · “having heart”
>99% girls
Sandra
“helper and defender of mankind”
>99% girls