Philomena
Feminine · “beloved of strength”
Philomena is a beloved of strength in Greek, and the saint attached to it was removed from the calendar in 1961 because nothing about her could be verified.
How old is the name Philomena?
Philomena was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Philomena alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 3,100 people named Philomena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Philomena most popular?
Philomena peaked in 1915, reaching #355 nationally. Today it ranks #1911, 1,556 places below that high. See the whole 1915 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From philos menos to Philomena
The story of Philomena
Bones found in a Roman catacomb in 1802 beside tiles reading PAX TECUM FILUMENA were taken for a martyr's, and a cult grew fast — Philomena had shrines and miracles within decades. The Vatican removed her from the general calendar in 1961 for lack of any historical evidence. The name is in current American use.
Meaning
beloved of strength
From the Greek philos, 'loving' or 'beloved', and menos, 'strength' or 'spirit'. Both elements are ordinary Greek and the compound is transparent. The Greek philomenos would mean 'strongly beloved'. The reading is undisputed even where the saint's history is not.
How the name formed
- philos menos
- Philomena
Related forms: Filomena · Filomena · Φιλομήνη
Pronouncing Philomena
fil-oh-MEE-nuh
Four syllables, stress on the third. Italian Filomena says fee-lo-MEH-nah.
Nicknames for Philomena
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
- 1921294 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #355reached in 1915
- Change vs 2022
- +21.7%101 in 2025, from 83
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.
Philomena in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Filomena in Italian — related form
- Filomena in Spanish — related form
- Φιλομήνη in Greek — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Pennsylvania, California.
Philomenas among us
people named Philomena are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 15,914 born in 2025 was named Philomena
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Philomena
- #1911
- Philomena on the 2025 chart
- #828
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Philomena went to 101 girls in 2025, but Filomena is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 132, which makes it the 828th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,083 places above the chart.
- Philomena101
- Filomena31
About 1 girl in 12,176 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 15,914 for Philomena 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
Philomena 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
Where Philomena is headed
Philomena should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Philomena beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Philomena in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The beloved-of-strength meaning is transparent and unusually good.
- The catacomb story and the 1961 removal are a genuinely remarkable episode.
- Mena is available as a short form with real use.
- The saint's historical existence is not established and the Church says so.
- Four syllables make it long for everyday use.
- Filomena is the Italian and Spanish spelling.
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What they receive
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Philomena
Feminine · #1911 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Philomenas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,100 people named Philomena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Philomena?
- Philomena is the most-used spelling in US records — 101 of the 132 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Filomena.
- How popular is the name Philomena in 2025?
- Philomena ranks #1911 among US girl names in 2025, with 101 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Philomena?
- About 1 in every 15,914 US girls born in 2025 was named Philomena — 101 in all.
- Will my child share the name Philomena with classmates?
- Philomena will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Philomena
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Wesley#1911 · Jazzlyn#1911 · Carlee#1911 · Susie#1911 · Chosen#1911 · Sahana#1911 · Valkyrie#1911 · Lillith#1911
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Philomena? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Philomena and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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