Phoebe
given name · Latin script
Recorded as a female name· opposite-gender records fall within measured source noise
Phoebe is a given name written in the Latin script, with more bearers in China than in any other country. Recorded meaning: The name Phoebe is of Greek origin and means "radiant, shining one".
- HKHong Kong≈1 in 1.3K(inferred from the name graph)
- KEKenya≈1 in 3.6K
- AUAustralia≈1 in 3.8K
carrying the name, as counted by its national register where one exists and as Mondonomo estimates it elsewhere (marked ≈ and "est." on hover). One hue, darker where it is more common; hover a country for its figure.
- China (inferred from the name graph)
- 3 (measured from records)
- Sources
- 446 (measured from records)
- ≈1 in 1.3K (inferred from the name graph)
≈130,000 people, est.
recorded for this name
Highest-authority source
Hong Kong, est.
measured from records inferred from the name graph
Spellings & scripts(measured from records)
One other spelling is counted as the same name:
Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.
Meaning & origin(measured from records)
The name Phoebe is of Greek origin and means "radiant, shining one." In the Bible, Phoebe was a respected and influential woman, a leader in the early church who was praised for her service and generosity, making it a name that suggests brightness, strength, and kindness.
Sources 1
- Biblical Names Compiled Database
Attested across 14 languages in the etymology graph.
Where in the world(measured from records)
Phoebe counted together with the spellings and other-language forms grouped with it. Where a register counted another spelling, the row names it.
Sorted by bearers: national registers' counts, and Mondonomo's estimates (≈, est.) where no register counts.
| Country | Most common spelling | Sources | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN China | — | ≈130,000 est. | ≈1 in 11K | — | Phoebe | 49 |
| US United States | — | 28,467 | 1 in 12K | 28K | Phoebe | 446 |
| PH Philippines | — | ≈15,000 est. | ≈1 in 7.2K | — | Phoebe | 108 |
| KE Kenya | #232 | ≈15,000 est. | ≈1 in 3.6K | — | Phoebe | 46 |
| NG Nigeria | — | ≈9,900 est. | ≈1 in 22K | — | Phoebe | 50 |
| AU Australia | #494 | ≈6,700 est. | ≈1 in 3.8K | 266 | Phoebe | 217 |
| HK Hong Kong | #108 | ≈5,400 est. | ≈1 in 1.3K | — | Phoebe | 66 |
| TW Taiwan | — | ≈3,300 est. | ≈1 in 7.2K | — | Phoebe | 69 |
Exact figures are national registers' own counts, while figures marked ≈ and est. are Mondonomo’s estimates, counted from our sources and calibrated against those registers; hover one for how far to trust it in that country. A dash means neither exists.
Registers cited: Census Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex; Australian national given names (aggregated state BDM). Figures without a register are Mondonomo estimates; see Methodology.
Country figures for a list of names, at full precision, are available under licence rather than by scraping this table (how that works).
Other recorded senses(measured from records)
Phoebe is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.
The name Phoebe is the Latin form of the Greek name Φοίβη (Phoibē), which means "bright," "radiant," or "pure." In Greek mythology, it was an epithet for the Titan goddess of the moon, Artemis.
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
Phoebe is a significant figure in Christianity, exemplifying female leadership, service, and patronage in the early church. She is often cited in theological discussions regarding the ordination of women and their roles in ministry, as Paul's commendation identifies her as a deacon and a key supporter of the apostolic mission.
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
Pronounced ‘fee-bee’: Latin form of the name of a Greek deity, Phoibé (from phoibos ‘bright’), partly identified with Artemis, goddess of the moon and of hunting, sister of the sun god Apollo, who was also known as Phoibos (Latin Phoebus).
as a nameA concise dictionary of first names
In English, Any of several birds of the genus Sayornis.
as a wordkaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)
In English, Titaness in Greek myth; songbird;
as a namePronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names
Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.
Notable people with this name(measured from records)
- Hertha Ayrtonb. 1854GBnot in their usual nameEnglish electrical engineer (1854–1923)
- Phoebe Ephronb. 1914USAmerican screenwriter and dramatist (1914-1971)
- Phoebe Nichollsb. 1957GBEnglish actress
- Phoebe Catesb. 1963USAmerican actress, model, and entrepreneur
- Phoebe Waller-Bridgeb. 1985GBEnglish actress, screenwriter and producer (born 1985)
- Phoebe Foxb. 1987GBBritish actress
- Phoebe Tonkinb. 1989AUAustralian actress
- Phoebe Ryanb. 1990USAmerican singer and songwriter
- Phoebe Bridgersb. 1994USAmerican musician (born 1994)
- Phoebe Dynevorb. 1995GBEnglish actress
The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).
Evidence(measured from records)
Attested in 68 sources across 40 countries.
| Country | Register | Year | Count | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US United States | Census Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex | 2020 | 28K | #1,293 |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2025 | 1.9K | — |
| AU Australia | Australian national given names (aggregated state BDM) | 2023 | 266 | — |
| AU Australia | AU state BDM — consolidated top baby names (NSW + SA + QLD) | 2025 | 107 | #65 |
| AU Australia | NSW BDM — Popular baby names (1952–present) | 2025 | 107 | #65 |
| AU Australia | QLD BDM — Top 100 Baby Names Queensland (1960–present) | 2025 | 80 | — |
| US United States | Census Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex | 2020 | 41 | #1,293 |
| AU Australia | SA BDM — Popular baby names South Australia (1944–present) | 2024 | 16 | #95 |
| AU Australia | Australian national given names (aggregated state BDM) | 2017 | 15 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2004 | 5 | — |
Reference works 2
- Wikipedia given-name tokens
- Wikidata name items (native-script + romanized given/family names)
These works list the name; their figures are licensed and are not reproduced here.
Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does the name Phoebe come from?
- The name Phoebe is of Greek origin and means "radiant, shining one." In the Bible, Phoebe was a respected and influential woman, a leader in the early church who was praised for her service and genero… Recorded by Biblical Names Compiled Database.
- What does the name Phoebe mean?
- Recorded meaning: The name Phoebe is of Greek origin and means "radiant, shining one."
- Is Phoebe a male or female name?
- Phoebe is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.
- In which country does Phoebe have the most bearers?
- Mondonomo estimates about 132 thousand people named Phoebe in China, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled phoebe.
- What are other forms of the name Phoebe?
- In the etymology graph, Febe, Phebe and Pheobe are forms of the same name in other languages.
- How common is the name Phoebe?
- In the United States, the national register counted 28,467 people named Phoebe in 2020, about 1 in 12 thousand residents.
- How common is Phoebe compared with other names?
- In Hong Kong, Phoebe is the 108th most common given name of 23,276 given names recorded there.
What do you want to know about Phoebe?
Nobody replies to these one by one, but what readers ask decides what these pages answer next.
Query this name via API
curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" https://api.mondonomo.ai/api/v1/name-graph/phoebeThe same payload this page is built from: spellings and scripts, countries and languages, related names, and the registers that attest the form. It takes a free API key (1,000 requests a day), and bulk access is licensed separately.
About this data
measured from records inferred from the name graph machine-generated
These figures come from the data snapshot of and will change as it is rebuilt.
Statistics are aggregated from the Mondonomo name corpus; related names and etymology are inferred from the name graph; pronunciation and any machine-marked transliterations are model-generated. Read how the numbers are made, including their known failure modes, and where the data comes from.
Reference works we consult — surname dictionaries, official name registers, Wikidata and Wiktionary — are named directly, beside the claims they support. The per-country source counts also include datasets of person records: we publish how many there are and their authority tier, but not their names.
Cite this page Mondonomo, “Phoebe” — the 108th most common given name in Hong Kong. Data snapshot 2026-10-10.