| Philip | Xander | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Lover of horses | Defender of the people |
| Origin | greek | Greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | FIL-ip | ZAN-der |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1990 |
| Peak year | 1953 (6,279) | 2017 (2,414) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 1,335 |
| Trend | Vintage | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Philip | Xander |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 3,713 | 10,693 |
| 2010s | 7,216 | 19,317 |
| 2000s | 10,193 | 9,909 |
| 1990s | 20,460 | 362 |
| 1980s | 35,733 | 0 |
| 1970s | 31,367 | 0 |
| 1960s | 44,780 | 0 |
| 1950s | 60,853 | 0 |
| 1940s | 48,735 | 0 |
| 1930s | 28,847 | 0 |
| 1920s | 27,268 | 0 |
| 1910s | 18,166 | 0 |
| 1900s | 2,817 | 0 |
| 1890s | 2,147 | 0 |
| 1880s | 1,741 | 0 |
From the Greek Philippos, combining philos 'loving, dear, friend' with hippos 'horse' — literally 'lover of horses', not 'lover' in general. The phil- element genuinely means love/affection, but note the object is horses.
Xander is a short form of Alexander, “defender of the people.”
Xander is more popular than Philip today: about 1,335 US babies were given the name Xander in 2025, compared with 0 named Philip.
Philip means Lover of horses (greek origin), while Xander means Defender of the people (Greek origin).
In US records, Philip first appears in 0 and Xander in 1990, so Philip has the longer recorded history.