Phoenix
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Meaning
dark red; mythical bird
The story
Phoenix reaches back to a Greek word, phoinix, that meant both the fabulous bird and a deep red-purple dye, which is why its meaning still carries "dark red" alongside the myth. The bird that burns and returns from its own ashes made the word a byword for renewal long before it belonged to anyone. In America it barely existed until the 1990s (1,736), then rose with real force: 7,906 in the 2000s, 17,500 in the 2010s, and about 13,200 so far this decade. It is genuinely unisex and leans slightly to boys, and it belongs to the small class of word-names, with Legend and Sage nearby, that parents choose for meaning worn on the outside. The Arizona city and the acting Phoenix family keep it in the air, but the myth is what gives it weight.
How popular is Phoenix around the world?
In the United States, 13,194 babies were named Phoenix between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 18 boys were registered as Phoenix in 2017.
Phoenix is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland and Spain.
United States
1 in 1,700
In the United States, 13,194 babies were named Phoenix between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Phoenix peaked in the 2020s. In 2025 Phoenix went to 567 girls and 1,027 boys in the US Social Security record, one of the few names given to girls and boys in nearly equal numbers.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 9702017
In South Australia, 18 boys were registered as Phoenix in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 2,800
In England and Wales, 158 boys named Phoenix were born in 2025, the 287th most common name among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 50 girls named Phoenix were born in 2025, the 733rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 2,900
In Canada, 88 boys named Phoenix were born in 2024, the 371st most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 37 girls named Phoenix were born in 2024, the 794th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New Zealand
1 in 3,000
In New Zealand, 19 boys named Phoenix were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
1 in 3,500
In Scotland, 7 boys named Phoenix were registered in 2024, the 432nd most common name among boys that year.
In Scotland, 6 girls named Phoenix were registered in 2024, the 476th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 11,000
In Ireland, 5 boys named Phoenix were born in 2025, the 577th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Spain
1 in 2.1M
In Spain, 21 residents are named Phoenix, ranked 29,650th among men, with a mean age of 12.7 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2024
Phoenix is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Phoenix is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Phoenix is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Poland
last on record 2023
Phoenix is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Argentina and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Phoenix
Most people given the name Phoenix in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Phoenix travels
Greek · the immortal firebird
Dual-language · the mythological bird; a direct translation match for two names already in this dataset; Vietnamese Phượng and Cantonese Fung (鳳) both mean phoenix, making this one of the cleanest meaning-for-meaning crossovers here
Keep exploring
Names like Phoenix · Middle names for Phoenix · Greek baby names · Dual-language baby names · Gender-neutral names · Truly unisex names
The Phoenix deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Phoenix truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Phoenix fits with your family’s names and surname.
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