Also known as Phyllis (given name), Phyllis (first name)
Phyllis or Phillis is a feminine given name of Greek origin meaning foliage. Phyllis is a minor figure in Greek mythology who killed herself in despair when Demophon of Athens did not return to her and who was transformed into an almond tree by the gods. Phillida, Phyllicia, and Phyllida are all variants of the name.
Phyllis or Phillis is a feminine given name of Greek origin meaning foliage. Phyllis is a minor figure in Greek mythology who killed herself in despair when Demophon of Athens did not return to her and who was transformed into an almond tree by the gods. Phillida, Phyllicia, and Phyllida are all variants of the name.
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Usage
The name has been in modern use since the 17th century when, often spelled Phillis, it was used by English poets John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, and Matthew Prior, probably taken from the supposed mistress of Aristotle, or other classical examples. The African-born American poet Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), who was captured and enslaved in the United States and was later freed, was named Phillis by her enslavers after the slave ship on which she arrived. Phillis was a popular name for women among enslaved women in the United States. In the spelling Phyllis, the name was popularized in the late 1800s after it was used by bestselling popular Irish novelist Margaret Wolfe Hungerford for the heroine of her 1877 romantic novel Phyllis, the Duchess. The name Phyllis was among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in the United States in 1880 and increased in use in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The popularity of American actress Phyllis Haver (1899–1960) also raised the profile of the name. Phyllis was among the top 100 names for American girls by 1915 and peaked in popularity in 1929 as the 24th most popular name for American girls. It remained among the top 1,000 names for American girls until 1950 and then declined in use.
The name was also at its most popular in the Anglosphere, in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, in the first part of the 20th century.
Mythological and legendary characters
The title character of the tale of Phyllis and Aristotle in medieval legend
Phyllis (mythology), wife of Demophon, king of Athens
Phyllis (river god)
Phyllis, consort of Ereuthalion
Phyllis, mother of the Trojan Alcaeus
Women
Phyllis Ackerman (1893–1977), American art historian, interior designer and author
Phyllis B. Acosta (1933–2018), American public health researcher
Phyllis Adams (born c. 1964 or 1965), American soprano vocalist and flight attendant
Phyllis Allen (1861–1938), American vaudeville and silent screen comedian
Phyllis Shand Allfrey (1908–1986), West Indian writer, socialist activist, newspaper editor, and politician
Phyllis Arkle (1910–1997), English author of children's books
Phyllis Margery Anderson (1901–1957), Australian pathologist
Phyllis Aronoff, Canadian literary translator
Phyllis Avery (1922–2011), American actress
Phyllis A. Balch (1930–2004), American nutritionist and author
Phyllis Baldino (born 1956), American visual artist
Phyllis Barber (born 1943), American writer
Phyllis Bardeau (1934–2023), American Seneca author, educator, and lexicographer
Phyllis Barnhart (1922–2008), American animator and cel painter
Phyllis Barry (1908–1954), English film actress
Fictional characters
Phyllis Dietrichson, in James Cain's novella Double Indemnity and two film adaptations
Phyllis Lindstrom, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Phyllis, a 1970s TV spin-off, played by Cloris Leachman.
Phyllis Nefler, the protagonist of Troop Beverly Hills played by Shelley Long
Phyllis Painter, a supporting character in Alan Moore's 2016 novel Jerusalem.
Phyllis Pearce, a character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by Jill Summers.
Phyllis Potter, a character in the 1990 film Quick Change played by Geena Davis.
Phyllis Summers Newman, on The Young and the Restless
Phyllis Vance (née Lapin), on The Office played by Phyllis Smith.
Phyllis (Passions), a minor character on Passions
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Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper
Phyllis Battelle (1922–2005), American journalist
Phyllis Bedells (1893-–1985), British ballerina and dance teacher
Phyllis Bennis (born 1951), American Jewish writer, activist, and political commentator
Phyllis Bentley (1894–1977), English novelist
Phyllis Berman (born 1942), American co-founder of the Riverside Language Program in New York City
Phyllis Drummond Bethune (1899–1982), New Zealand artist
Phyllis Bird (born 1934), American feminist scholar in biblical hermeneutics
Phyllis Birkby (1932–1994), American architect
Phyllis Blackwell (born 1957), American professional tennis player
Phyllis Blakeley (1922–1986), Canadian historian, biographer and archivist
Phyllis Blythe (1912–2001), British actress known as Jenny Laird
Phyllis Pray Bober (1920–2002), American art historian, scholar, and author
Phyllis Bolds (1932–2018), American physicist
Phyllis Bone (1894–1972), Scottish sculptor
Phyllis Bookout (1935–1964), American baseball player
Phyllis Borzi, American government official
Phyllis Bottome (1884–1963), British novelist and short story writer
Phyllis Boyens (1947–2009), American folk singer and actress
Phyllis Bramson (born 1941), American artist
Phyllis Brooks (1915–1995), American actress and model
Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress
Phyllis Campbell (1894–?), Australian-born World War I nurse and writer
Phyllis Cook Carlisle (1912–1954), Canadian architect
Phyllis Carlson, American baseball player
Phyllis Chan (born 1991), Canadian badminton player
Phyllis Chase (c. 1897–c. 1977), English illustrator
Phyllis Chemutai (born 1962), Ugandan politician
Phyllis Chen (born 1978), American composer, sound artist, and pianist
Phyllis Chesler (born 1940), American writer, psychotherapist, and professor
Phyllis M. Christian (born 1956), Ghanaian lawyer and consultant
Phyllis Cilento (1894–1987), Australian doctor and medical journalist
Phyllis Clare (1905–1947), British actress
Phyllis Cleveland, American politician
Phyllis Coard (1943–2020), Jamaican-Grenadian revolutionary and politician
Phyllis Coates, stage name of American actress Gypsie Ann Evarts Stell (born 1927)
Phyllis Covell (1895–1982), British tennis player
Phyllis Crane (1914–1982), Canadian-born American film actress
Phyllis Mae Dailey (1919–1976), first African American woman United States Navy nurse and officer
Phyllis Dalton (1925–2025), British costume designer
Phyllis Danaher (1908–1991), Australian dancer, teacher of dance and choreographer
Phyllis Dare (1890–1975), English actress and singer
Phyllis Davis (1940–2013), American actress
Phyllis Worthy Dawkins (born 1953), American academic administrator
Phyllis Dawson (born 1957), American Olympic equestrian
Phyllis Dewar (1916–1961), Canadian Olympic swimmer
Phyllis Diller (1917–2012), American actress/comedian
Phyllis Dillon (1944–2004), Jamaican rocksteady and reggae singer
Phyllis Dixey (1914–1964), English singer, actress, dancer, and impresario
Phyllis Draper (1907–2000), American paleoecologist
Phyllis Duganne (1899–1976), American writer
Phyllis Duguid (1904–1993), Australian teacher and Aboriginal rights and women's activist
