Pippa
Feminine · “lover of horses”
Pippa is Philippa shortened, and the Greek behind it is a lover of horses — philos and hippos, which made it a name for aristocrats who could afford them.
How old is the name Pippa?
Pippa first appears in US birth records in 1957 — 68 years ago. The typical Pippa is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,700 people named Pippa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pippa most popular?
Pippa peaked in 2014, reaching #1736 nationally. Today it ranks #1855, 119 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.
Pippa appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From philos hippos to Pippa
The story of Pippa
Philip II of Macedon fathered Alexander, and the name spread through Christian Europe by way of the apostle. Philippa was its English feminine — Philippa of Hainault was Edward III's queen. Browning's Pippa Passes of 1841 fixed the short form. It appears in American records rising and is in current use.
Meaning
lover of horses
Through Philippa and Philip, from the Greek philos, 'loving', and hippos, 'horse'. Horse-keeping was an aristocratic occupation in Greece, so the name marked rank. Both elements are ordinary Greek and the compound is transparent and undisputed.
How the name formed
- philos hippos
- Philippa
- Pippa
Related forms: Pippa · Philippa · Philippa
Pronouncing Pippa
PIP-uh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Italian says it the same way.
Nicknames for Pippa
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
- 1957
- Most girls named
- 2014120 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1736reached in 2014
- Change vs 2024
- +46.6%107 in 2025, from 73
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.
Pippa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Pippa in Italian — same name
- Philippa in English — related form
- Philippa in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Pennsylvania.
Pippas among us
people named Pippa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 15,021 born in 2025 was named Pippa
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 Mirian test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Pippa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mirian climbed just as high around 1923, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mirian's path sketches the road Pippa is walking now.
Pippa 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 Pippa is headed
Pippa is easing off slowly — about 16% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Pippa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Pippa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The horse-loving meaning is concrete and its aristocratic sense is genuinely interesting.
- Philippa is available as a full formal version with a royal record.
- Pip is a short, warm, immediately available form.
- It reads as distinctly British to American ears.
- As a diminutive on the certificate it carries an informal register into adult life.
- Philippa is much less used in America than in Britain.
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What they receive
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Pippa
Feminine · #1855 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Pippas 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 Pippa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Pippa in 2025?
- Pippa ranks #1855 among US girl names in 2025, with 107 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Pippa?
- About 1 in every 15,021 US girls born in 2025 was named Pippa — 107 in all.
- Will my child share the name Pippa with classmates?
- Pippa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Pippa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stormie#1855 · Jazlin#1855 · Paityn#1855 · Beckett#1855 · Jireh#1855 · Daria#1855 · Yasmina#1855 · Inayah#1855
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pippa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Pippa and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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