Fun Facts About the Name Phoenix
- More than 40 thousand babies named Phoenix: U.S. records list 40,594 babies given the name Phoenix from 1880 through 2025. Of these, 16,047 girls received the name Phoenix - about 1 girl for every 2 boys.
What Does the Name Phoenix Mean?
Phoenix is an English name taken directly from the Greek word phoinix (φοῖνιξ). That word carried several connected meanings in ancient Greek: the legendary bird that is burned and rises again, a purple-red or crimson color, the date palm, and the Phoenician people. The name is therefore usually glossed as "mythical bird" or "crimson."
The deeper origin of phoinix is uncertain. One common explanation ties the word to the reddish-purple dye of the eastern Mediterranean and to the traders associated with it, so that the color sense came first. Another connects it to the date palm, whose fruit and trunk can appear red. Because the bird, the color, the palm, and the people all share one Greek word, scholars disagree about which sense came first, and some treat phoinix as a borrowing from a non-Greek language rather than a native Greek formation.
Phoenix Name History & Origins
The Greek word phoinix is old in the language and appears in two distinct ways. As a personal name it belongs to characters in early Greek storytelling: in Homer's Iliad, Phoenix is the aged tutor and companion of Achilles, and several other figures in Greek myth carry the name. It was also a real name in the Greek world - Phoenix of Colophon was an iambic poet in the third century BC.
The bird appears in Greek writing as early as Hesiod. Herodotus describes a bird from Arabia that lives for a very long time, dies, and is reborn. The Roman poet Ovid retold the story in the Metamorphoses: the phoenix builds a nest, is consumed by fire, and a new bird rises from the remains. The image passed into early Christian writing, where the letter known as 1 Clement uses the phoenix as a picture of resurrection, and it remained a common symbol of renewal in European art and literature.
English use of Phoenix as a given name is modern and is not limited to one gender. It shares its form with the name of Phoenix, Arizona, a city named for the mythical bird, and with the Greek word itself.
How Popular is the Name Phoenix?
Phoenix recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2020. Its best rank was #236 in 2020.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #534 | 567 | 0.0353% |
| 2024 | #421 | 734 | 0.0455% |
| 2023 | #349 | 870 | 0.0543% |
| 2022 | #316 | 1,013 | 0.0618% |
| 2021 | #311 | 1,037 | 0.0632% |
| 2020 | #285 | 1,114 | 0.0690% |
| 2019 | #313 | 1,027 | 0.0612% |
| 2018 | #350 | 908 | 0.0534% |
| 2017 | #362 | 861 | 0.0499% |
| 2016 | #440 | 730 | 0.0412% |
| 2015 | #453 | 700 | 0.0392% |
| 2014 | #490 | 637 | 0.0357% |
| 2013 | #486 | 620 | 0.0353% |
| 2012 | #572 | 514 | 0.0292% |
| 2011 | #647 | 443 | 0.0252% |
| 2010 | #666 | 436 | 0.0245% |
| 2009 | #719 | 403 | 0.0219% |
| 2008 | #706 | 425 | 0.0225% |
| 2007 | #714 | 410 | 0.0213% |
| 2006 | #812 | 336 | 0.0177% |
| 2005 | #882 | 287 | 0.0155% |
| 2004 | #880 | 280 | 0.0152% |
| 2003 | #981 | 237 | 0.0130% |
| 2002 | #1,306 | 150 | 0.0083% |
| 2001 | #1,275 | 155 | 0.0086% |
| 2000 | #1,367 | 137 | 0.0075% |
| 1999 | #1,523 | 113 | 0.0064% |
| 1998 | #1,530 | 110 | 0.0062% |
| 1997 | #1,522 | 107 | 0.0061% |
| 1996 | #1,596 | 98 | 0.0056% |
| 1995 | #1,573 | 97 | 0.0055% |
| 1994 | #1,808 | 80 | 0.0045% |
| 1993 | #2,512 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 1992 | #3,197 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 1991 | #3,423 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 1990 | #2,838 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 1989 | #2,911 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 1988 | #4,440 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1987 | #7,817 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #7,562 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #6,809 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #10,002 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #4,823 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1982 | #5,447 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1981 | #6,675 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #4,265 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1979 | #3,047 | 28 | 0.0017% |
| 1978 | #2,996 | 27 | 0.0018% |
| 1977 | #4,018 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #3,917 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1975 | #6,310 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1970 | #8,938 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #329 | 1,027 | 0.0601% |
| 2024 | #275 | 1,227 | 0.0715% |
| 2023 | #269 | 1,254 | 0.0734% |
| 2022 | #260 | 1,341 | 0.0769% |
| 2021 | #247 | 1,439 | 0.0823% |
| 2020 | #236 | 1,534 | 0.0889% |
| 2019 | #256 | 1,422 | 0.0793% |
| 2018 | #252 | 1,455 | 0.0801% |
| 2017 | #267 | 1,349 | 0.0729% |
| 2016 | #292 | 1,237 | 0.0652% |
| 2015 | #307 | 1,162 | 0.0606% |
| 2014 | #353 | 914 | 0.0476% |
| 2013 | #380 | 790 | 0.0418% |
| 2012 | #380 | 794 | 0.0419% |
| 2011 | #388 | 731 | 0.0385% |
| 2010 | #376 | 766 | 0.0399% |
| 2009 | #367 | 826 | 0.0416% |
| 2008 | #397 | 744 | 0.0365% |
| 2007 | #419 | 695 | 0.0335% |
| 2006 | #422 | 675 | 0.0328% |
| 2005 | #477 | 527 | 0.0264% |
| 2004 | #551 | 418 | 0.0211% |
| 2003 | #563 | 398 | 0.0201% |
| 2002 | #617 | 321 | 0.0165% |
| 2001 | #629 | 302 | 0.0155% |
| 2000 | #878 | 180 | 0.0092% |
| 1999 | #914 | 164 | 0.0085% |
| 1998 | #907 | 159 | 0.0083% |
| 1997 | #916 | 149 | 0.0079% |
| 1996 | #1,055 | 116 | 0.0061% |
| 1995 | #962 | 134 | 0.0070% |
| 1994 | #1,007 | 122 | 0.0063% |
| 1993 | #1,889 | 44 | 0.0022% |
| 1992 | #2,289 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1991 | #2,667 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1990 | #2,678 | 25 | 0.0012% |
| 1989 | #3,414 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1988 | #4,697 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #7,045 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #6,795 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #6,079 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1968 | #4,592 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Phoenix Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a power of expression, either in speaking or writing. You are in favor for studying and research. You are clever, clear-sighted and intellectual. You don't like to let others know your true feelings. You might be atheistic or agnostic. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Phoenix's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Phoenix's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.