Philomena

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Philomena: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Philomena: Recorded since 1964, its highest recorded position is #72, and it stood at #885 in 2025.

2registrars recorded it
80times a registrar ranked it
62years from first to last
#72highest recorded position
13groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1914
1997	#1802
1998	#3848
1999	#2770
2000	#2167
2001	#2023
2002	#1658
2003	#4373
2004	#2802
2005	#2682
2006	#1983
2007	#2627
2008	#2721
2009	#2326
2011	#2275
2012	#2338
2014	#3160
2015	#2328
2016	#1749
2017	#2502
2018	#3985
2019	#2040
2020	#1939
2021	#2942
2022	#2325
2023	#2346
2024	#4843

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 53 of the 62 years from 1964 to 2025.

In 2023: #856 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #2346 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1964–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #72 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1964–2025
Highest recorded position: #72 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1964 (recorded 1964–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #885 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Philomena appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 53 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 1,315 births with the name.

Philomena across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Philomena's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#72 (1964)	#72 (1964)	#885 (2025)	53 of 62	1,315 (1964–2025)	84 (1964)
England and Wales · Girls	#1914 (1996)	#1658 (2002)	#4843 (2024)	27 of 29	237 (1996–2024)	17 (2016)

Philomena by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Philomena in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960sbusiest	367	6 of 10	61
1970s	477	10 of 10	48
1980s	256	10 of 10	26
1990s	135	9 of 10	15
2000s	30	7 of 10	4
2010s	41	8 of 10	5
2020s	9	3 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1960s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 61 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Philomena appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1964 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #72 in Republic of Ireland in 1964.

Philomena's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#4843	4	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#2346	11	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#2325	11	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#2942	8	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1939	14	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#2040	13	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#3985	5	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#2502	10	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#1749	17	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#2328	11	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#3160	7	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2338	11	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#2275	11	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#2326	10	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#2721	8	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#2627	8	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1983	11	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#2682	7	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#2802	6	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#4373	3	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1658	11	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#2023	8	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#2167	7	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#2770	5	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#3848	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1802	9	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1914	8	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#885	3	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#856	3	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#883	3	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#716	4	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#568	6	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#515	7	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#494	8	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#584	6	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#768	4	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#937	3	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#910	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#862	3	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#549	6	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#635	4	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#424	7	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#655	3	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#606	3	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#465	4	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#380	5	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#263	14	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#279	11	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#205	19	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#329	8	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#286	11	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#188	23	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#217	18	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#184	26	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#186	24	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#203	20	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#232	18	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#185	26	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#192	27	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#213	23	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#180	31	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#201	27	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#167	39	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#230	21	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#181	33	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#172	38	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#163	42	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#173	35	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#142	51	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#139	54	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#135	56	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#128	55	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#122	58	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#122	55	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#133	46	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#108	59	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#115	50	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#100	63	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#100	65	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#72	84	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1964 and 2025, ranked in 61 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #72, first reached in 1964.

It held a top-100 place in 3 years, 3 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 84 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1964.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 32 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Phillipa · #401, 32y
Phillippa · #736, 23y
Phineas · #1548, 25y
Phoebe · #17, 39y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Eskil · #72, 65y
Lotte · #73, 64y
Nicolai · #76, 61y
Edmond · #77, 60y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Dara · #72, 62y
Jemma · #73, 52y
Marc · #73, 61y
Nuala · #71, 61y

Philomena was ranked #72 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1964. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Philomena and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Philomena without appearing here.

Philomena moved ahead of

Donna Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3985 and #3518 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #2040 and #5591.
Kirsten Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3985 and #1977 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #2040 and #5591.
Tracey Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3985 and #3985 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #1939 and #4535.
Debra Compare
In 2005 they stood at #4373 and #3099 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2006 that had become #1983 and #4157.

Moved ahead of Philomena

Noah Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2346 and #3218 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #4843 and #1743.
Aria Compare
In 2002 they stood at #1658 and #2540 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #4373 and #1472.
Ada Compare
In 2002 they stood at #1658 and #2301 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #4373 and #1628.
Linnea Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2346 and #2689 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #4843 and #2411.

Moved the opposite way to Philomena

Annie Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Philomena went from #72 to #885 while Annie went from #112 to #33.
Charlotte Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Philomena went from #72 to #885 while Charlotte went from #171 to #43.
Clodagh Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Philomena went from #72 to #885 while Clodagh went from #149 to #47.
Emily Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Philomena went from #72 to #885 while Emily went from #180 to #6.

Moved the same way as Philomena

Audrey Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Philomena went from #72 to #885 and Audrey from #85 to #885.
Eileen Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Philomena went from #72 to #885 and Eileen from #17 to #443.
Ida Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Philomena went from #72 to #885 and Ida from #372 to #885.
Julia Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Philomena went from #72 to #885 and Julia from #42 to #118.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1964 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #72 in Republic of Ireland in 1964. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Philomena

Philomena at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Philomena across 2 official records

Philomena by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Philomena appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Philomena

Philomena and the names beside it

Philomena moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Philomena

Moved the opposite way to Philomena

Moved the same way as Philomena

Philomena at a glance

Philomena across 2 official records

Philomena by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Philomena appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Philomena

Philomena and the names beside it

Philomena moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Philomena

Moved the opposite way to Philomena

Moved the same way as Philomena