Phelan
- Gender
- Boy
- Origin
- Irish
- US rank, 2025
- #12,003 for boys
Phelan is a boys' name of Irish origin, meaning “descendant of Faolán”. In 2025 it ranked 12,003rd for boys in the US (5 babies).
What does Phelan mean?
Irish
“descendant of Faolán”
A male given name from Irish.
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Phelan a girl's or a boy's name?
Phelan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Phelan in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2007, with 8 boys.
Phelan in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | #6,416 |
| 2015 | 6 | #3,149 |
| 2014 | 4 | #4,063 |
| 2013 | 6 | #3,096 |
| 2012 | 6 | #3,167 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 8 | #2,337 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 6 | #2,545 |
| 2004 | 4 | #3,147 |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 4 | #2,438 |
How popular is Phelan in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 12,003rd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 5 about 1 in 340,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 5 boys in the US were named Phelan, making it the 12,003rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 7,497th. Its busiest year was 1996, with 26 boys. It first appears in the records in 1949.
2025 had fewer boys named Phelan than any year since 1984.
Half of all the boys named Phelan in the US since 1880 were born between 1989 and 2010, the years shaded on the chart below.
Phelan in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #12,003 |
| 2024 | 8 | #8,982 |
| 2023 | 8 | #8,916 |
| 2022 | 8 | #8,983 |
| 2021 | 13 | #6,330 |
| 2020 | 10 | #7,497 |
| 2019 | 6 | #10,797 |
| 2018 | 9 | #8,150 |
| 2017 | 13 | #6,334 |
| 2016 | 6 | #10,739 |
| 2015 | 11 | #7,061 |
| 2014 | 13 | #6,303 |
| 2013 | 11 | #7,021 |
| 2012 | 8 | #8,858 |
| 2011 | 11 | #7,002 |
| 2010 | 7 | #9,686 |
| 2009 | 9 | #8,305 |
| 2008 | 10 | #7,693 |
| 2007 | 17 | #5,207 |
| 2006 | 10 | #7,422 |
| 2005 | 12 | #6,220 |
| 2004 | 12 | #6,132 |
| 2003 | 10 | #6,708 |
| 2002 | 12 | #5,718 |
| 2001 | 11 | #6,006 |
| 2000 | 12 | #5,581 |
| 1999 | 14 | #4,756 |
| 1998 | 15 | #4,409 |
| 1997 | 21 | #3,346 |
| 1996 | 26 | #2,833 |
| 1995 | 20 | #3,298 |
| 1994 | 17 | #3,745 |
| 1993 | 14 | #4,220 |
| 1992 | 14 | #4,106 |
| 1991 | 6 | #7,263 |
| 1990 | 16 | #3,601 |
| 1989 | 13 | #4,011 |
| 1988 | 11 | #4,157 |
| 1987 | 8 | #4,962 |
| 1986 | 10 | #4,126 |
| 1985 | 6 | #5,780 |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 12 | #3,410 |
| 1982 | 6 | #5,617 |
| 1981 | 7 | #4,959 |
| 1980 | 7 | #4,938 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 11 | #3,262 |
| 1975 | 7 | #4,307 |
| 1974 | 7 | #4,188 |
| 1973 | 8 | #3,692 |
| 1972 | 9 | #3,342 |
| 1971 | 9 | #3,368 |
| 1970 | 9 | #3,280 |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 5 | #4,047 |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 5 | #3,940 |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 6 | #3,296 |
Names like Phelan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Logan, Dylan, Rowan, Ronan, Caelan, Aiden, Kian, Declan, Ethan, Ryan, Cody, Finn
More Irish names
Oscar, Rory, Maeve, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Erin, Connor, Casey, Kennedy, Callan, Lennon, Cillian, Kevin, Sloane, Aidan
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Phelan: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/phelan, updated 20 October 2026.