Phoebe
Feminine · Greek roots · “bright”
Phoebe is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 43,658 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Phoebe comes from the Greek Phoibe, "bright" or "radiant" — a word first attached to Apollo as a title of the shining sun. It has been written down for well over two thousand years, and it still moves easily in an American mouth: two beats, a soft landing. The same spelling works in English on both sides of the Atlantic.
How old is the name Phoebe?
Phoebe was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Phoebe alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 36,000 people named Phoebe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Phoebe most popular?
Phoebe peaked in 2025, reaching #157 nationally. Today it ranks #157, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Where it comes from
From Phoibe (Greek Φοίβη) to Phoebe
The story of Phoebe
In Greek myth Phoibe was a Titaness, and the name was also used in poetry for the moon, the bright counterpart of Apollo's sun. It reached Christian use through the New Testament: Paul's letter to the Romans opens its final chapter by commending Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, and that single mention put the name in reach of English Protestants, who took it up in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. From there it traveled to America with the Puritans and never quite left. Two later namesakes borrowed the word again — the small grey-brown flycatcher called the phoebe, and one of Saturn's outer moons.
Meaning
bright, radiant
From Greek phoibos, "bright, shining" — the epithet of Apollo, made feminine as Phoibe.
Cultural footprint
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (b. 1985) — Created and starred in Fleabag
Phoebe Bridgers (b. 1994) — Indie music's melancholy star
Phoebe Cates (b. 1963) — Fast Times at Ridgemont High icon
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- PhoibeGreek Φοίβη
- PhoebeLatin
- PhoebeEnglish
Related forms: Φοίβη · Febe · Febe · Febe · Phébé · Phöbe
Pronouncing Phoebe
FEE-bee
The ph sounds like f and the oe like a long e, so the o is never voiced. Occasional first-time readers try FOY-bee or FO-bee; one correction usually settles it.
Nicknames for Phoebe
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
- 20251,885 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #157reached in 2025
- Change vs 2022
- +36.2%1,885 in 2025, from 1,384
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.
Phoebe in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Φοίβη in Greek — transliteration
- Febe in Italian — same name
- Febe in Spanish — same name
- Febe in Portuguese — same name
- Phébé in French — same name
- Phöbe in German — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. International figures from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland. Sources
Phoebes among us
people named Phoebe are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 853 born in 2025 was named Phoebe
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Paris test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Phoebe's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Paris climbed just as high around 2004, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Paris's path sketches the road Phoebe is walking now.
Phoebe is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Phoebe is headed
Phoebe looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 17% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
High 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.
Phoebe beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Phoebe in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented line running from ancient Greek through the New Testament and Puritan England into present-day American use, without a break.
- One standard English spelling, shared unchanged in England, Wales and Scotland, where it also charts.
- Established short forms already in circulation — Pheebs, Bee — so nothing has to be invented.
- Two syllables and a clear vowel pattern, easy to say for children and for speakers of other languages.
- The Ph and oe combination is the sticking point: expect Phebe, Feebe and Phoebee on forms and name tags, plus a spoken FOY-bee now and then. Nothing severe, but it will need spelling out over the phone for life.
- A central character on one of the most-watched American sitcoms of the 1990s carries the name, and many adults still hear that association first. It fades with each new set of classmates.
- The trend line is heading upward. A Phoebe starting school now is likely to be the only one in her year, but she may well meet others in the years after.
- Some listeners hear it as very tied to Greek myth or scripture. In practice it reads simply as an English name, and has for centuries.
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What they receive
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Phoebe
Feminine · Greek roots · #157 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Phoebes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 36,000 people named Phoebe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Phoebe in 2025?
- Phoebe ranks #157 among US girl names in 2025, with 1,885 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Phoebe?
- About 1 in every 853 US girls born in 2025 was named Phoebe — 1,885 in all.
- Will my child share the name Phoebe with classmates?
- Phoebe will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Phoebe
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Arya#158 · Oakley#156 · Wrenley#158 · Piper#155 · Sage#160 · Ember#154 · Oaklynn#153 · Alani#161
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Phoebe? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Phoebe and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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