How rare is the name Philomena?

4,052 people in the United States have the first name Philomena, about 1 in 74,539. It ranks #4,547 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

PHILOMENA

#4,547

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
4,052
About
1 in 74,539
This common or more
84.2%
Who bears it

Of the 4,052 people named Philomena, 70.6% reported their origin as White, 15.7% as Black and 6.3% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are female (99.7%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Philomena peaked in 1922, when 308 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1922
Births that year
308
In 2025*
101 ▼67%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 9,951 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Philomena by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1900s, when it ranked #676. The largest share of babies named Philomena, 49.3%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#1,047140
1890s#853296
1900s#676613
1910s#7022,071
1920s#7602,711
1930s#1,1871,070
1940s#1,949547
1950s#2,321534
1960s#3,959239
1970s#7,607115
1980s#12,18472
1990s#11,375122
2000s#9,501218
2010s#4,641665
2020s#3,828538
Before 19014.8%
Greatest Generation 1901–2749.3%
Silent Generation 1928–4518.7%
Baby boom 1946–648.9%
Generation X 1965–802.2%
Millennials 1981–961.3%
Generation Z 1997–123.9%
2013 and later11%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Philomena is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Philomena has been most common in Connecticut (5.6×), Pennsylvania (5.3×), and New Jersey (4.5×), and least common in Texas (0.08×).

6,255 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Philomena

1 other first name also has 4,052 people.

#4,547 Karri · 4,052

Either side of Philomena

#4,545 Marylin · 4,053#4,547 Karri · 4,052#4,549 Akshay · 4,051#4,549 Sandro · 4,051

Spelled almost the same

2 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Philomena, most common first.

#16,996 Philomene · 656#22,241 Philomina · 449

Compare