PortugueseGreek roots3 syllables
Meaning: lover of horses; friend to horses.
Filipe
| Origin | European Portuguese form of Philip, from Greek Philippos through Latin Philippus |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Greek philos (loving) + hippos (horse) — an aristocrat's name, because horses meant cavalry |
| Pronunciation | fee-LEEP in Portugal, the final vowel almost swallowed; fee-LEE-pee in Brazil |
| Popularity | Outside the current U.S. top 100; the standard spelling in Portugal, while Brazil overwhelmingly writes Felipe |
| Variants | Felipe (Brazil and Spanish), Philip, Philippe, Filippo, Filip, Fülöp |
| Nicknames | Filipinho, Fi; Lipe in Brazil |
| Kings of the name | Three — the Habsburgs who ruled Portugal between 1580 and 1640 |
History & meaning
Philippos was a Macedonian court name that meant exactly what its parts say: philos, loving, and hippos, horse. Philip II of Macedon built the cavalry his son Alexander inherited, an apostle carried the name into the Christian east and west, and Latin wrote it Philippus. Portuguese used to write it that way too. The orthographic reform of 1911 swept the Greek-looking spellings out of the language — ph became f, th became t, y became i — and Philippe became Filipe overnight, along with farmácia, teatro and estilo.
The three Portuguese kings of the name were not Portuguese. When the Cardinal-King Henrique died childless in 1580, Felipe II of Spain enforced his claim and took the throne as Filipe I of Portugal, and his son and grandson followed him. Sixty years of Spanish rule ended on 1 December 1640, when a group of noblemen deposed the third Filipe's governor and put João IV on the throne; the date is still a public holiday. It says something about the name's ordinariness that Portugal kept using it enthusiastically anyway.
Filipe or Felipe
This is a real fork, not a typo. Portugal writes Filipe, keeping the I of the Latin Philippus. Brazil, along with the whole Spanish-speaking world, writes Felipe. Both spellings exist in the Brazilian registry — the surfer Filipe Toledo and the footballer Filipe Luís are both Brazilians with the I — but Felipe is by a wide margin the Brazilian default, and Filipe the Portuguese one. They are also said differently. European Portuguese reduces an unstressed final E almost to nothing, so Filipe comes out as fee-LEEP with the ghost of a vowel; Brazilian Portuguese turns that same final E into a clear “ee”, giving fee-LEE-pee. Learn that one rule and half of Portuguese names stop sounding mysterious.
Why parents choose it
It is the rare Iberian name that needs no accent, no digraph and no apology, and it declares a Portuguese rather than a Spanish family in a single letter. It ages well too: unhurried on a small child, entirely serious on a grown man, and never in danger of collapsing into Phil.
Middle names for Filipe
Three even syllables benefit from a second name with a different shape: Filipe André, Filipe Manuel, Filipe Duarte, Filipe Gonçalo. The middle names guide explains how to check the join against your surname.
Famous Filipes
Filipe Nyusi served as president of Mozambique from 2015 to 2025. Filipe Toledo, from São Sebastião in São Paulo state, won the World Surf League title in 2022 and again in 2023. Filipe Luís spent a decade as a left-back at Atlético Madrid and Chelsea before returning to Flamengo, where he later took over as head coach.
Consider instead
Felipe is the same name with the Brazilian and Spanish spelling and a wider reach in the Americas. Duarte gives you another Portuguese royal name with no Iberian Union attached. Vicente keeps the saint's-name register and works in both countries.