How popular is the baby name Theophilia 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 Theophilia.

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Popularity of the baby name Theophilia


Posts that mention the name Theophilia

Baby names with PH: Phoenix, Ophelia, Joseph

pheasant

Looking for baby names that feature the appealing letter-pair PH?

I’ve collected hundreds of options for you in this post!

Before we get to the names, though, let’s get one big question out of the way…

Why does PH sound like “F”?

In English, PH is a digraph, which means that it’s a pair of letters that make a single sound. (It’s interesting that the word “digraph” contains a digraph, isn’t it?)

Most of the English words that have PH were derived from Greek — specifically, from Greek words that included the Greek letter phi:

Greek letter phi (uppercase)
Phi (uppercase)

In ancient times, the Greek letter phi made an aspirated p-sound. (The unaspirated p-sound, on the other hand, was made by the Greek letter pi.)

When Greek was transliterated into Latin, the letter phi was written as “ph” to denote this aspiration — that is, to signal that the letter “p” was accompanied by a brief puff of air.

So, what happened?

In the first several centuries A.D., the pronunciation of the Greek letter phi changed. It slowly evolved from an aspirated p-sound into an f-sound.

As a result, the letter-pair “ph” underwent a corresponding (though somewhat illogical) pronunciation change. It, too, came to represent an f-sound — and still does to this day.

Now, on to the names!

Names with PH

Below you’ll find a long list of names that contain the letter-pair PH. Many of these names come directly from the U.S. SSA’s baby name data. Others are ancient names that aren’t used much (if at all) in modern times.

  • Aleph
  • Alpha
  • Alphaeus
  • Alpharetta
  • Alphie
  • Alphonsa
  • Alphonse
  • Alphonsine
  • Alphonso
  • Alphonsus
  • Amphion
  • Amphirho
  • Amphithea
  • Aphaea
  • Aphra
    • Seventeenth-century writer Aphra Behn was one of the first English women to earn her living by writing.
  • Aphrodite
  • Apphia
  • Asaph
  • Caliph
  • Cephas, Cephus
  • Christoph, Christophe
  • Christopher, Kristopher
  • Christophine
  • Cleopha
  • Cléophée
  • Cleophas, Cleophus
  • Cypher
  • Daphna
  • Daphne, Daphnie, Daphney, Daphni, Daphnee
  • Delpha
  • Delphi
  • Delphia
  • Delphin
  • Delphina
  • Delphine
  • Delphinus
  • Demophon
  • Dolph
  • Dolphus
  • Dymphna
  • Elaphia
  • Eliphalet, Eliphelet
  • Eliphas, Eliphaz
  • Elpha
  • Ephesius
  • Ephraim
  • Ephram
  • Ephratah
  • Ephrem
  • Epiphanius
  • Epiphany
  • Eugraphia
  • Eugraphius
  • Euphemia
  • Euphemius
  • Euphoria
  • Euphranor
  • Euphrasia
  • Euphrasie
  • Euphrasius
  • Glaphyra
  • Gryphon
  • Hephaestus
  • Hephzibah
  • Humphrey
  • Ildephonse
  • Iphigenia
  • Iphis
  • Japheth, Japhet, Yaphet
  • Jehoshaphat
  • Jephthah ,Jephtha
  • Josaphat
  • Joseph, Ioseph
  • Josepha
  • Josephina
  • Josephine
  • Josephus
  • Memphis
  • Morpheus
  • Murphy, Murphie, Murphee, Murphey
  • Mustapha, Moustapha
  • Naphtali, Nephtali
  • Nephele
  • Nephi
  • Nephthys
  • Nicéphore
  • Onuphrius
  • Ophelia
  • Ophélie
  • Ophir
  • Ophira
  • Ophrah
  • Orpha
  • Orpheus
  • Orphia
  • Pamphilus
  • Persephone, Persephonie, Persephony
  • Phaedra
  • Phaedrus
  • Phaenna
  • Phanuel
  • Pharaildis
  • Pharamond
  • Pharaoh
  • Pharez
  • Pharrell
  • Phelan
  • Phelim
  • Philbert, Philibert
  • Phileas
  • Philemon
  • Philetus
  • Philia
  • Philinda
  • Philina, Philena
  • Philine, Philene
  • Philip, Phillip, Philipp
  • Philippa, Phillipa
  • Philippe
  • Philo
  • Philomel
  • Philomela
  • Philomena
  • Philon
  • Philopateer, Philopater
  • Philotera
  • Phineas, Phinehas
  • Phoebe, Phebe
  • Phoenicia
  • Phoenix
  • Photina
  • Photine
  • Photius
  • Phronsie
  • Phryne
  • Phylicia
  • Phyllida
  • Phyllis, Phillis
  • Porphyrius
  • Prophet
  • Ralph
  • Ralphie
  • Ralphine
  • Randolph
  • Rapha
  • Raphael
  • Raphaela
  • Raphaëlle
  • Rodolph
  • Rolph
  • Rudolph
  • Saphina
  • Saphira, Sapphira, Saphyra
  • Sapphire
  • Sephira
  • Sephiroth
  • Sephora
  • Seraph
  • Seraphia
  • Seraphim
  • Seraphin
  • Seraphina, Saraphina
  • Seraphine
  • Shiphrah
  • Sophia, Sophya
  • Sophie, Sophi, Sophee
  • Sophilia
  • Sophina
  • Sophonie
  • Sophonisba
  • Sophron
  • Sophronia
  • Sophronius
  • Sophus
  • Stephania
  • Stephanie, Stephany, Stephani
  • Sylphrena
  • Sypha
  • Symphony
  • Télesphore
  • Theophanes
  • Theophania
  • Theophila
  • Theophilia
  • Theophilus
  • Triumph
  • Tryphena
  • Tryphon
  • Tryphosa
  • Xenophon
  • Zelpha
  • Zephan
  • Zephaniah
  • Zephyr
  • Zephyra
  • Zephyria
  • Zéphyrine
  • Zephyrus
  • Zilpha
  • Zilphia

Which of the PH names above to do you like most? Let me know in the comments!

Sources: Phee-phi-pho-phum – The Grammarphobia Blog, SSA

Image: Adapted from Fasan3 by Ragnhild & Neil Crawford under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The top girl-name debuts of 2014

lotus bud

The television-inspired Dalary was the top debut name for baby girls in 2014.

Of all the girl names appearing for the very first time on a Social Security Administration baby name list in 2014, the following were the most popular:

1. Dalary, 215 baby girls
2. Yazleemar, 28
3. Sunjai, 23
4. Hannaley, 21
5. Tauriel, 20
6. Naiovy, 17
7. Rynlee, 14
8. Abisai, 13
9. Arliz, 13
10. Everli, 13
11. Iselle, 13
12. Tessanne, 13
13. Eisele, 12
14. Aidana, 11
15. Aransa, 11
16. Huntlee, 11
17. Posy, 11
18. Tiwatope, 11
19. Xairexis, 11

And a handful from the 10-and-under group: Enzley, Sochi, Kaoir, Aketzaly, Everdeen, Jeyshangelise, Khaleesia, Yailenys/Yaileny, Espyn/Espen, Gabbanelli, Kimimela, Kween, Rocket, Ruoxi, Cove, Light, Madrona, Miamore/Miamour, Penrose, Synnove, Winslet, Ziggy, Believe, Bravery, Decker, Hastings, Katsumi, Knova, Luxanna, Mirajane, Nelliel, Penelopea, Poe, Taizley, Theophilia, Wimberley, Zoja, Zyelle.

Where do the names above come from? Here are some explanations:

  • Dalary – from the baby girl born on reality TV show “Larrymania” in late 2013. (Abby figured this one out right away!)
  • Yazleemar – from 2-year-old St. Jude patient Yazleemar, who was in Spanish-language TV commercials for the hospital.
  • Sunjai – from the dance reality TV show “Bring It.”
  • Hannaley – from actress Hannaley Suarez, host of “Suelta La Sopa” on Telemundo.
  • Tauriel – from the 2nd and 3rd films in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, released in 2013 and 2014. (elbowin called this one a while back!)
  • Naiovy – from Puerto Rican-American singer Ivy Queen, who welcomed baby girl Naiovy in late 2013.
  • Iselle – from Hurricane Iselle which hit Hawaii (as a tropical storm) in August of 2014.
  • Tessanne – from singer Tessanne Chin, who won The Voice at the end of 2013. (We added her name to Pop Culture Baby Name Game 2013, but forgot for 2014! Bah.)
  • Aransa – based on Aranza, from Mexican telenovela “Por siempre mi amor” (2013-2015).
  • Xairexis – from singer Xairexis Garcia of Spanish-language reality talent show “La Voz Kids.”
  • Sochi – from the Winter Olympics in Sochi. (Also mentioned in PCBNG ’13.)
  • Everdeen – from Hunger Games character Katniss Everdeen.
  • Winslet – from Kate Winslet…?

Can you come up with explanations for any of the others?

Here are the girl name debuts for 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

U.S. Baby Names 2014: Most popular names, Top girl-name debuts, Top boy-name debuts, Biggest girl-name changes, Biggest boy-name changes, Top first letters, Top lengths

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri