Philomena

Greek

"lover of strength"

Philomena Origin and Meaning

The name Philomena is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "lover of strength".

Philomena is an earthy Greek name now used in various Latin countries. While it has felt simply clunky for many years, it's starting -- along with such sister names as Wilhelmina and Frederica -- to sound so clunky it's cool.

Also a saint's name--that of a thirteen-year-old martyr of early Rome--it's commonly seen in Italy and Spain spelled Filomena. Philomena only started appearing in English-speaking countries in the latter half of the nineteenth century, especially in Scotland and Australia.

In the US, Philomena ranked in the Top 1000 through 1940, peaking at Number 355 in 1915.

Philomena Guinea is the name of protagonist Esther Greenwood's patron in Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. New attention was brought to the name via the Oscar-nominated eponymous film based on the real-life Philomena Lee.

Philomena Rank in US Top 1000

# 957 in the US

Philomena Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 667 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Philomena

• 667 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Philomena

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Philomena.

• Honora
• Heloise
• Sibyl
• Sigrid
• Eugenia
• Hester
• Theodosia
• Magdalene
• Ginevra
• Apolline
• Rosamund
• Magdelene
• Raphaela
• Eudora
• Thomasin
• Hildegard
• Rosamond
• Flavia
• Gwendoline
• Eugenie

Famous People Named Philomena

• Saint Philomena Greco,Roman martyr, patron saint of children and impossible causes
• Philomena Begley Irish country music singer
• Philomena Bijlhout Dutch TV presenter and politician
• Philomena Franz Sinti (Romani) Holocaust survivor & writer
• Philomena Garvey Irish golfer
• Philomena Theresa Gianfrancisco American female baseball player
• Philomena Lee Irish woman who searched for her long,lost son; basis for book "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee" and film "Philomena"
• Philomena "Phyllis" Lynott Irish memoirist
• Philomena Marano American collage artist
• Philomena McDonagh English actress
• Philomena Bijou "Philo" Jovanovic b. 2014, daughter of Daphne Oz and John Jovanovic
• Maire Philomena Ni Bhraonain birth name of Moya Brennan, Irish singer formerly of Clannad
• Annabella Gloria Philomena Sciorra American actress
• Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton b. 1956, British actress
• Stephanie Eleonore Maria Elisabeth Kamilla Philomena Veronika Princess of Windisch,Graetz, daughter of Austrian archduchess Elisabeth Marie, The Red Archduchess

The name Philomena in Pop Culture

• Philomena Princess Celestia's pet phoenix on the TV show "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic"
• Philomena Rostovich character in the play "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You" by Christopher Durang
• Philomena Guinea character in "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
• Philomena Sinnott wife to Eugene Sinnott and mother of Timothy John in "Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel" (1969) by William Trevor
• "That's Philomena!" picture book about a frog named Philomena, by Catherine Bancroft and Hannah Coale
• Philomena Vasillia character in the webcomic "Never Satisfied" by Taylor Robin
• "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee " by Martin Sixsmith, basis for 2013 film "Philomena"

International Variations of the name Philomena

• Filomena Italian
• Philomène French