Phillip peaked in 1960 and holds rank #626 with 311,120 total SSA bearers. It's one of the most classic Greek names in the Western tradition — the name of apostles, kings, and philosophers — in the double-L spelling that dominated American usage in the mid-twentieth century. That spelling variant tells a small story about the name's American life.
Greek Roots, Royal Lineage
Phillip comes from Greek Philippos, meaning "lover of horses" — from philos (loving) + hippos (horse). The name's historical pedigree is extraordinary: Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, is the most historically influential bearer. Philip the Apostle appears in all four Gospels. Six Spanish kings bore the name, as did five kings of France. In England, the name arrived with the Normans and never left, becoming standard across centuries.
The Double-L American
The standard Greek-origin spelling is Philip (one L), which is how most European usage renders it. Phillip with two L's is the specifically American variant that dominated mid-century usage — a spelling convention that appears in SSA records far more often than Philip for bearers born between roughly 1940 and 1975. The double-L version isn't wrong; it's just distinctly American, and choosing it today carries that mid-century association. The single-L Philip reads slightly more classical.
Classic but Not Yet Classic Enough
Phillip's 1960 peak places it in the same demographic territory as Donald, Roger, and Dennis , names that haven't yet completed their vintage-cool revival. Some names from that era have already come back (Frank, Henry, George); Phillip is still in the waiting room. At 311,120 total bearers, it's one of the most historically used names in this entire ranking range, which means choosing it now is genuinely early in any potential revival cycle.