Phebe
Feminine · “Bright”
Phoebe was a Titan, a moon of Saturn, and a deacon of the early church whom Paul commends by name in Romans. Phebe is the older English spelling, before the ph-oe convention settled, and it was the ordinary American form through the nineteenth century.
How old is the name Phebe?
Phebe was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Phebe alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 1,700 people named Phebe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Phebe most popular?
Phebe peaked in 1882, reaching #352 nationally. Today it ranks #5554, 5,202 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Phoibe to Phebe
The story of Phebe
Romans 16:1 commends Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, whom Paul asks the Roman Christians to receive — she is generally taken to have carried the letter itself, which makes her the first person to have delivered Romans. That biblical presence made the name usable to English Puritans, and Phebe was ordinary in colonial and nineteenth-century America. Shakespeare gives a Phebe to As You Like It. The name declined after 1900 and revived in the twentieth century in the Phoebe spelling, helped considerably by a character on a 1990s sitcom; Phebe's own American peak was 1882.
Meaning
Bright, radiant
From Greek phoibos, bright or pure, the epithet of Apollo as sun god; Phoibe is the feminine. The reading is settled. Phoebe was a Titaness, grandmother of Apollo and Artemis, and the name became an epithet of the moon. The Phebe spelling reflects English usage before the Greek oe was consistently restored in the nineteenth century.
How the name formed
- Phoibe
- Phoebe
- Phebe
Related forms: Φοίβη · Phoebe · Phoebe
Pronouncing Phebe
FEE-bee
Two syllables, stress on the first. The ph is an f and the final e is sounded, which is what most first-time readers get wrong — the name is not FEEB.
Nicknames for Phebe
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 200439 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #352reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- −21.4%22 in 2025, from 28
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Phebe in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Φοίβη in Greek — related form
- Phoebe in English — spelling variant
- Phoebe in Latin — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida.
Phebes among us
people named Phebe are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 73,058 born in 2025 was named Phebe
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Phebe
- #5554
- Phebe on the 2025 chart
- #928
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Phebe went to 22 girls in 2025, but Febe is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 32, which makes it the 928th most-given girls’ name of the year — 4,626 places above the chart.
- Phebe22
- Febe10
About 1 girl in 50,227 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 73,058 for Phebe itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Phebe sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Phebe beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Phebe in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, short and bright.
- It has both a classical and a biblical bearer, and the biblical one is remarkable.
- Phoebe is available as the standard modern spelling.
- Phoebe is the standard spelling now and will be written for it.
- The final e is regularly left unsounded by first-time readers.
- It is strongly dated to the nineteenth century in this spelling.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Phebe to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Phebe? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Phebe
Feminine · #5554 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Phebes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Phebe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Phebe?
- Phebe is the most-used spelling in US records — 22 of the 32 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Febe.
- How popular is the name Phebe in 2025?
- Phebe ranks #5554 among US girl names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Phebe?
- About 1 in every 73,058 US girls born in 2025 was named Phebe — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Phebe with classmates?
- Phebe will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Phebe
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eda#5554 · Felicia#5554 · Audie#5554 · Maryellen#5554 · Warren#5554 · Ruthann#5554 · Gray#5554 · Nettie#5554
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Phebe? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Phebe and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle