Felipe

Meaning of Felipe

Felipe (feh-LEE-peh in Spanish, feh-LEEP in English) reaches back to the Greek Philippos, “lover of horses,” a meaning that long outlived the cavalry yet still lends the name a certain understated dash. Traveling through Latin and into Spanish and Portuguese, it gained royal stature—think King Felipe VI of Spain—before hitching a ride to the Americas, where it has hovered in the middle of the U.S. charts for decades, quietly attracting roughly 250–300 newborn bearers each year. The name’s footprint now straddles palaces and playing fields alike, shared by European monarchs, Brazilian footballers, and the occasional MLB infielder, so it balances courtly polish with everyday approachability. For English-speaking parents who like Philip but want a passport-ready twist, Felipe supplies familiarity without predictability, global ease without linguistic gymnastics, and—despite the original etymology—not a single horse to feed.