Philippa

Greek, feminine variation of Philip

"lover of horses"

Philippa Origin and Meaning

The name Philippa is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "lover of horses".

Philippa is a prime example of a boy's name adapted for girls that was common as crumpets in Cornwall, but rarely heard stateside. That was before the advent of royal sister-in-law Philippa Middleton, who goes by the lively nickname Pippa.

Philippa has still never appeared in the Top 1000 in the US, quite an accomplishment for a classic name that's been around for centuries. It does, however, rank on England's as well as Nameberry's own internal lists.

Pippa doesn't rank in the US either, but is far more popular than Philippa in the rest of the English-speaking world. It ranks in the Top 100 in Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and in the Top 200 in England and Scotland.

Philippa has been fashionable in England since the fourteenth century when King Edward married Philippa of Hainault. There have been several early Saint Philippas, and it was the name of the wife of Geoffrey Chaucer.

Novelist Philippa Gregory authored the bestselling historical novel The Other Boelyn Girl.

Philippa Popularity

• 671 Nameberry 2024
• 338 England 2021
• 358 Germany 2016