Philip

Greek
"lover of horses"

Philip Origin and Meaning

The name Philip is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "lover of horses".

Philip, the name of one of the 12 apostles, is still favored by parents in search of a solid boys' classic that is less neutral than Robert or John and more distinctive than Daniel or Matthew and has many historic, royal ties.

Famous bearers include Saint Philip and King Philip the Great, who was the father of Alexander the Great, plus there have been numerous other French and Spanish rulers named Philip.

Thanks to the Duke of Edinburgh, though, Philip has a certain built-in reserve, somewhat straight and staid.

When it comes to nicknames, you're not limited to the midcentury Phil -- more lively ones include Pip and Flip.

The name can also be spelled Phillip; that spelling is consistently used almost exactly as much as this spelling, and in 2017 there were exactly as many baby Phillips as there were baby Philips.

Some other modern Philip namesakes are writer Roth, late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, architect Johnson, and composer Glass. Model Eva Herzigova named her baby Philip.

Philip comes via Latin from the Greek and was a Top 100 choice for a century, before fading in the late-1980s. In literature, Philip Pirrip is the full name of Pip from Great Expectations. Other Philips appear in the novels of Jane Austen, George Eliot, and William Thackeray -- not to mention Raymond Chandler's detective Philip Marlowe.

# 499 in the US

Philip Rank in US Top 1000

# 339 on Nameberry

Philip Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Philip Popularity

Famous People Named Philip

  • Philip I
    III, Dukes of Burgundy
  • Philip I and II
    Kings of Macedon
  • Philip
    Biblical apostle
  • Philip I
    V, Kings of Spain
  • Philip I
    VI, Kings of France
  • Philip III
    King of Navarre
  • Philip Leopold Lewis Marie
    King of Belgium
  • Philip of Swabia
    King of Germany
  • Philip
    King of Sweden
  • Philip aka Metacomet
    King of the Native American Wampanoag people
  • Philip Mountbatten
    Prince of the UK; Duke of Edinburgh; husband of Queen Elizabeth II
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman
    American actor
  • Philip Morris Glass
    American composer
  • Philip Michael Rivers
    American NFL football player
  • Philip "Phil" Richard Erenberg
    American Olympic gymnast
  • Philip Pullman
    English novelist
  • Eugene Joseph "Philip" Carey
    American actor
  • Philip Reeve
    English novelist
  • Philip Kindred Dick
    American novelist
  • Philip Milton Roth
    American novelist
  • Philip Levine
    American Poet Laureate
  • Philip Guston (born Phillip Goldstein)
    American painter
  • Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson
    American basketball coach and team president
  • Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins
    English musician
  • Philip Hampson "Phil" Knight
    American co,founder of Nike
  • Philip John "Phil" Keoghan
    New Zealand host of TV's "The Amazing Race"
  • Philip "Phil" Michael Lester
    English radio host and internet personality known as AmazingPhil
  • Philip "Phil" Jamieson
    lead singer of Australian band Grinspoon
  • Philip George Zimbardo
    American psychologist
  • Phillip Phillips
    American singer
  • Philip Hamilton
    first son of Elizabeth and Alexander Hamilton
  • Philip Marsiaj (b. 2011)
    son of Czech model and actress Eva Herzigová
  • Philip Cairns (b. 1973)
    13 year old Irish boy who went and still is currently missing either from Ballyroan or Rathfarnham in south Dublin in 1986

Philip in Pop Culture

  • Philip "Pip" Pirrip
    character in Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations"
  • Philip Herriton
    character in movie "Where Angels Fear to Tread"
  • Philip "The Governor
    " character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
  • Philip "Phil" Dunphy
    character on TV's "Modern Family"
  • Prince Philip
    character in Disney's "Sleeping Beauty"
  • Philip J. Fry
    main character in animated sitcom "Futurama"
  • Prior Philip
    a main character in Ken Follett's "The Pillars of Earth"
  • Philip Fletcher
    main character in G. A. Henty's "St. Bartholomew's Eve"
  • Philip
    name chosen by both Angela and Pam for their sons on TV's "The Office"
  • Philip Maylands
    main character in R. M. Ballantyne's "Post Haste"