Phoebe
Top 1000
About Phoebe
Bubbly, bright, and versatile, Phoebe is a name with mythological, biblical, and literary ties. Used since the 17th century, it fell out of fashion in the US during the '60s, only to be revived after it appeared in the 90's TV favorites, Friends and Charm>.
Since then, it's been on the rise, with a recent year seeing it sit comfortably in the US Top 200, the England and Wales Top 20, and the Top 100 in Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Ireland.
The Latinized form of the Greek Phoibe, ultimately derived from phoibos, the name has the gorgeous and fitting meaning of "bright." In classical mythology, Phoebe is the by-name of Artemis, goddess of the moon and of hunting, while in the New Testament, Phoebe is a church deaconess.
In literature, Shakespeare used the name (spelled Phebe) for a rustic denizen of the forest in As You Like It and in Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables, Phoebe Pynchon was a cheerful young girl. There's also a Phoebe in Catcher in the Rye: Holden Caulfield's sympathetic, precocious ten-year-old sister. In real life, famous Phoebes include musician Phoebe Bridgers and actress and writer Phoebe Wallers-Bridge.
The masculine form is the rarely used Phoebus, while the Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch form is Febe.
Pronounced FEE-bee.
As of October 2026, Phoebe ranked #157 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #21.
Editor's take: The name Phoebe is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "radiant, shining one".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #297 | 1,104 | 618 |
| 2015 | #288 | 1,118 | 626.3 |
| 2016 | #314 | 1,034 | 583.5 |
| 2017 | #318 | 1,021 | 591.4 |
| 2018 | #320 | 1,026 | 603.1 |
| 2019 | #291 | 1,149 | 684.6 |
| 2020 | #254 | 1,181 | 730.6 |
| 2021 | #247 | 1,240 | 755.7 |
| 2022 | #215 | 1,382 | 842.6 |
| 2023 | #190 | 1,590 | 990.9 |
| 2024 | #183 | 1,639 | 1,011.6 |
| 2025 | #157 | 1,885 | 1,172.8 |
World rankings
Similar names
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- Felicity
- Penelope
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- Esther
- Cecilia
- Josephine
- Esme
- Fiona
- Rosemary
- Matilda
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Phoebe on lists
Famous Phoebes
- Phoebe Belle Cates
American actress
- Phoebe Gilman
Canadian,American children's author
- Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson Hearst
mother of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst
- Phoebe Mills
American Olympic athlete
- (Sarah) Phoebe Nicholls
English actress
- Phoebe Philo
British fashion designer
- Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub)
American singer,songwriter
- Phoebe Ann Mosey
birth name of Annie Oakley, American sharpshooter
- Phoebe Jane Elizabeth Tonkin
Australian actress
- Phoebe Harriet Dynevor
English actress; daughter of actress Sally Dynevor
- Phoebe Stone
author, illustrator
- Phoebe Jennifer Tomlinson
sister of singer Louis Tomlinson of One Direction
- Phoebe Dahl
fashion designer and granddaughter of the writer Roald Dahl
- Phoebe Pearl
daughter of American novelist Jennifer Weiner
- Phoebe McCurtain Lithgow (b. 1983)
daughter of American actor John Lithgow
- Phoebe Gittins
daughter of actor Paul Gittins and screenwriter Philippa Boyens
- Phoebe Pryce (b. 1990)
daughter of actor Jonathan Pryce
- Phoebe Miu (b. 1991)
daughter of actors Jaime Chik and Michael Miu
- Phoebe Joseph (b. 2001)
daughter of actress Sherry Stringfield and Larry Joseph
- Phoebe Adele Gates (b. 2002)
daughter of Microsoft's Bill and Melinda Gates
- Phoebe Margaret Cake (b. 2009)
daughter of actors Julianne Nicholson and Jonathan Cake
- Phoebe Sylvia Rachel True
Frost (b. 2011), daughter of actor Jim True,Frost
- Phoebe Herring (b. 2015)
daughter of comedian Richard Herring
- Phoebe Bridgers
American singer/songwriter
- Phoebe Siegel
Contestant on season 4 of Love Island USA
Phoebe in pop culture
- Phoebe
Greek mythological titaness of the oracle of Delphi, mother of Leto and grandmother of Artemis and Apollo
- Phoebe Buffay
character on TV series "Friends"
- Phoebe Tyler Wallingford
character on soap "All My Children"
- Phoebe Halliwell
character on TV series "Charmed"
- Phoebe Heyerdahl
character on animated series "Hey Arnold!"
- Phoebe Terese
character in the "Magic School Bus" series
- Phoebe Caulfield
Holden's younger sister in "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
- Phoebe Lichten
character in film "Phoebe in Wonderland"
- Phoebe Throssel
character in film "Quality Street"
- Phoebe Winterbottom
character in "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
- Phoebe Thunderman
character on TV series "The Thundermans"
- Phoebe Kendall
main character in "Generation Dead" by Daniel Waters
- Phoebe Grizelda Howell
main character in "Phoebe and Her Unicorn" by Dana Simpson
- Phoebe D'Ysquith
character in musical, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"
- Phoebe Forrester
character on soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful", Steffy Forrester's twin sister
- Phoebe Grey
Christian and Ana's daughter in the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy
- Capt. Phoebe Callisto
Spaceship captain & mother in the Disney Jr cartoon series "Miles from Tomorrowland"
- Phoebe
character in "Toad Patrol"
- Phoebe Hawthorne
character in Mother,Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick
- Phoebe
Moon of Saturn
- Phoebe Lucille Bridgers
American singer and songwriter
Variations & nicknames
- PheobeGreek
- PhebeItalian