Here’s an often-overlooked gem – feminine but not fussy, aristocratic yet easy for a child to wear.
Thanks to Lola, Kate and Jodi for suggesting Philippa as Name of the Day.
Just like her masculine counterpart Philip, Philippa has an undeniably equestrian air. Philos is Greek for friend; hippos for horse.
But unlike Philip, a favorite amongst royals and writers, Philippa is quite sparingly used in the US. Philippa and Phillipa unlike have never appeared in the US Top 1000. Phyllis fared well in the 1920s and 30s, but she has different roots. (Literally – she’s from the Greek for foliage!)
Not only does Philippa sound like a member of the horsey set, she also sounds British. Back in the 1300s, Queen Philippa was consort to King Edward III of England. Aristocratic Philippas abound. Queen Philippa herself was honored with two granddaughters wearing her name, one of whom became Queen of Portugal.
The spunky nickname Pippa saves Philippa from sounding prim. Her origins aren’t clear, but Robert Browning penned the poem Pippa Passes back in 1841. His Pippa was an innocent girl traversing the streets of Asolo, in the Italian countryside outside Venice. The poem is remembered for a few things, including the line “God’s in his heaven – All’s right with the world.”
Then there’s Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking. The feisty children’s book character claims her given name is Pippilotta. Maybe so, but if you happened to have a red-haired daughter called Philippa, nicknaming her Pippi would be tempting.
A handful of other Philippas are well known, including:
- Historical novelist Philippa Gregory, best known for writing The Other Boelyn Girl;
- The BBC’s Phillipa Foffrester;
- Philippa Foot, a 20th century philosopher and pioneer in the field of modern ethics;
- Philippa Schuyler became a famous pianist in the 1930s, while still a child. While her story isn’t widely remembered today, there are occasional rumors of a biopic – the most recent round even suggested Alicia Keys might star;
- There’s also a character on the Australian soap opera Home and Away called Phillipa Ross, better known as Pippa. Another character was also named Pippa in her honor;
- In the 1970s, English girls played with the Pippa Doll, a rival to Barbie;
- Libba Bray has created another fictional Pippa, known as Pip, one of the nineteenth century school girls at Spence Academy in A Great and Terrible Beauty.
Overall, Philippa is certainly an underused gem. She’s familiar but uncommon; classic but not cumbersome. If Pippa doesn’t suit, you could call her Polly, or possibly even Poppy.
As for the Philippa/Phillipa spelling issue, that’s difficult to resolve. Philip is closer to the original, but Phillip – originally a surname spelling – has become far more common in the US. Today, either is valid, but Philippa seems to have a bit of an edge. In fact, she could emerge as quite fashionable in the next few years.
I feel I must add in the other alternative spelling of this name here – what with it being mine and all: Phillippa
Two ‘l’s and two ‘p’s.
Unfortunately, no one spells it right for the first time and I have to live my life constantly correcting them.
Other then that, I have to say that I like my name.
I am from England (born and raised), but I have found that this name apparently confuses people as I have been asked whether I am Greek, Italian or French on occasion.
As to nicknames: Pip, Pips, Pippa, Pippy, Phil, Philly, etc etc
Sometimes branching out to:
Pippi Longstocking
Philadelphia
Apple Pip (or just ‘apple’)
Pippaca
Other nicknames used for the name (ones which some friends who are also called Philippa/Phillipa have experienced other then mentioned):
Phi
Lee
No ‘Pa’ though.
Thanks, Phillippa – you’re right. With all the Phillips out there, Phillippa is perfectly valid.
“What’s your name?”
– “Philippa”
“What?”
– “Philippa”
“What?!”
– “PHILIPPA!”
“Phil robot?…. (or weirder)”
-“Phil!”
“Oh…. isn’t that a boys name?…..”
Pippi=clam
Pip=a seed or worse, a fart as mentioned above
I’m not sure what I’d do if someone started calling me Polly or Poppy.
Pepper however is a cute dog’s name…
Don’t do it! Spare your child from grief! I can’t even pronounce my own name half the time!
(Also, I can’t stand horses)
Well, it’s been a good week or two for my kids’ names here!
Count me among those who discovered Philippa/Pippa and fell in love while living in the UK. I was pregnant with my Pippa during the 2004 Olympics and Philippa/Pippa Funnell was the UK’s star equestrian. Pippa’s name was already more or less settled by then, but hearing it on TV every so often made my heart go pitter-pat and sealed the deal.
Another little bit of Philippa trivia for you: I couldn’t give you a source on this, but I read somewhere when we were researching names that originally Philip was used for both sexes. To distinguish between boys and girls, the suffix a was added only in written birth records (written as “Philip(a)”), and gradually this became the accepted female form. Apparently.
As far as spelling/pronunciation goes. I only ever encountered Philippa in the UK (though I know both are used), but I seem to see Phillipa more from Australian sources. Could that be a pattern? We pronounce it with the emphasis on the PHIL, but here in the US where we now live, it is almost always mispronounced as phil-LIP-a or even phil-LEEP-a. Thankfully she’s Pippa to everyone but the doctor’s office, so the confusion is minimal.
Oh yeah, and I like it 🙂 We get compliments on her name all the time. I’m pleased with how well it translated to the US when we moved here, though I think we have a bit of a reputation now for being “out-there” baby-namers!
Philippa is adorable – as is Pippa. It’s not that uncommon in the UK… but I have to say, it’s one of those names that I grew to like while living over there, and not one that I loved prior to my stint in England.
I have always like Philippa but know that I could never use it since my brother’s name is Philip. I chuckled when I came onto this site today because I’m currently listening to a recording of an Agatha Christie mystery that features a Philippa (called Pip).
I like this quite a bit. She is spunky and so fun to say. She has plenty of adorable nn options to fall back on. Pippi, Fifi, Poppy, Polly or even Pepper. I also like the French, Philippine.
While Philippa itself is a great name, the nickname Pippa is awkward to pronounce. Also, am I the only person whose family used “pip” as a “polite” term for a fart? I would eschew nicknames and use the whole name.
I adore this name.
That’s really all I can say on the subject.
Oh, though I prefer Philippa. The double-L just doesn’t look as nice as the double-P to me.
There is also a Philippa in L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of the Island- Phil Gordon.
I’d tell you how I came across this site, but I honestly don’t remember. Maybe from You Can’t Call It It? Anyway, I’ve been visiting for several months now. Hi.
Oh there is, isn’t there? Thanks for the reminder. I haven’t read Anne in years … I wonder if I still have them somewhere. Thanks for reading!
I’ve been proclaiming my love of Philippa for quite some time; however, I recently realized that the name is awkward and cumbersome to pronounce (at least for me).