Phoebe

What Phoebe means

Means “bright”

Borrowed from Latin Phoebē, from Ancient Greek Φοίβη (Phoíbē), feminine form of Φοῖβος (Phoîbos, “bright”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Phoebe” (revision 94542576), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Phoebe?

US: Rising: up from #288 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #22 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 1,885 girls got the name (#157 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 853 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 164 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 206 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VT (12.32 per 1,000 girls), DC (6.93 per 1,000 girls), AK (6.65 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Phoebe is #157 in the US and #14 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Phoebe were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Phebe22 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Phoebe

Girls

• Helena#363Editor’s note Up from #534 in 2015 to #363 in 2025 in the US
• Georgia#99“farmer”^*
• Azaria#638Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1988, with 6 babies
• Elaina#267Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #267 vs #951 in 2025
• Sophie#55French form of Sophia, meaning “wisdom”^*
• Gia#287Editor’s note Up from #372 in 2015 to #287 in 2025 in the US

For a brother

• Isaias#426Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #426 vs #3,256 in 2025
• Orion#334possibly “heaven's light”^*
• Sebastian#16“august, venerable, exalted”^*
• Damian#109“to tame”^*
• Solomon#422“peace”^*
• Azariah#472“Yah Has Helped”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Greek, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Phoebe’s. Rank is US 2025.