How popular is the baby name Phylicia in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Phylicia.

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Popularity of the baby name Phylicia


Posts that mention the name Phylicia

How did “The Cosby Show” influence baby names in the 1980s?

The character Rudy Huxtable (played by Keshia Knight Pulliam) from the TV series "The Cosby Show" (1984-1992)
Rudy Huxtable from “The Cosby Show“

Remember The Cosby Show?

The ground-breaking ’80s sitcom focused on the Huxtables, a well-off African-American family living in New York City. It starred Bill Cosby as Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable.

The show ran from 1984 to 1992, and was the top-rated program in the nation for five consecutive seasons (1985, ’86, ’87, ’88, and ’89).

And it influenced a whole bunch of baby names, such as…

Rudy & Keshia

Rudith “Rudy” Huxtable, the youngest child in the family, was played by Keshia Knight Pulliam. The baby name Keshia entered the girls’ top 1,000 the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 385 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 594th)
  • 1989: 496 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 479th)
  • 1988: 398 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 547th)
  • 1987: 483 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 457th)
  • 1986: 511 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 426th)
  • 1985: 321 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 596th)
  • 1984: 96 baby girls named Keshia
  • 1983: 64 baby girls named Keshia

Also in 1985, the usage of Rudy (as a girl name) rose, and variant spelling Rudi popped up in the U.S. baby name data (also as a girl name) for the very first time.

The character Vanessa Huxtable (played by Tempestt Bledsoe) from the TV series "The Cosby Show" (1984-1992)
Vanessa Huxtable from “The Cosby Show“

Vanessa & Tempestt

Vanessa, the second-youngest Huxtable child, was played by Tempestt Bledsoe. The baby name Vanessa saw its highest-ever usage during the years the show was on:

  • 1989: 6,955 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 50th)
  • 1988: 7,515 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 41st)
  • 1987: 7,345 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 43rd)
  • 1986: 7,367 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 43rd)
  • 1985: 7,562 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 42nd)
  • 1984: 7,153 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 45th)
  • 1983: 6,383 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 49th)

And the baby name Tempestt debuted on the charts the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 70 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1989: 98 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1988: 72 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1987: 87 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1986: 78 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1985: 36 baby girls named Tempestt [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

The name Tempest also got a boost during the second half of the ’80s.

The character Theo Huxtable (played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner) from the TV series "The Cosby Show" (1984-1992)
Theo Huxtable from “The Cosby Show“

Theo & Malcolm-Jamal

Theodore “Theo” Huxtable, the family’s middle child (and the only male in the house besides Cliff), was played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The baby name Theo nearly tripled in usage the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 66 baby boys named Theo
  • 1989: 75 baby boys named Theo
  • 1988: 77 baby boys named Theo
  • 1987: 75 baby boys named Theo
  • 1986: 85 baby boys named Theo
  • 1985: 76 baby boys named Theo
  • 1984: 23 baby boys named Theo
  • 1983: 26 baby boys named Theo

Usage of the baby name Malcolm also began to rise in the mid-’80s, and the baby name Malcolm-Jamal (rendered Malcolmjamal by the SSA, which leaves off hyphens) debuted in the data two years after the show began airing:

  • 1990: unlisted
  • 1989: unlisted
  • 1988: 5 baby boys named Malcolmjamal
  • 1987: unlisted
  • 1986: 5 baby boys named Malcolmjamal [debut]
  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s compound first name, given to him by his father, honored civil rights activist Malcolm X and renowned jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.

The character Clair Huxtable (played by Phylicia Rashad) from the TV series "The Cosby Show" (1984-1992)
Clair Huxtable from “The Cosby Show“

Phylicia

Huxtable mother Clair was played by actress Phylicia Rashad. The baby name Phylicia entered the top 1,000 for the first time two years after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 257 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 787th)
  • 1989: 265 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 744th)
  • 1988: 286 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 679th)
  • 1987: 290 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 649th)
  • 1986: 213 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 789th)
  • 1985: 122 baby girls named Phylicia
  • 1984: 13 baby girls named Phylicia
  • 1983: 7 baby girls named Phylicia

Actress Phylicia Rashad’s first name is pronounced fuh-LISH-uh.

(I should note that her name was probably also being influenced by the sudden trendiness of Felicia, pronounced fuh-LEE-shuh, thanks to character Felicia Cummings of the soap opera General Hospital.)

So now here’s the question: Does The Cosby Show beat Family Ties in terms of impact on the baby name charts? Cosby clearly affected a greater number of names, but is that enough to offset the massive rises of both Mallory and Alex?

P.S. Did you know that Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy Huxtable were loosely based on Cosby’s real-life children, named Erika, Erinn, Ennis, Ensa, and Evin?

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of The Cosby Show

[Latest update: Nov. 2025]