Phoenix is from the Greek phoinix ("crimson, purple") — the immortal bird that cyclically dies in flames and is reborn from the ashes, found in Egyptian (Bennu), Greek, Roman, Persian (Simurgh), Chinese (Fenghuang), and Slavic mythology. A top-300 US baby name since 2017 as a girl's given name (unisex). The Phoenix family — Joaquin Phoenix (1974, Best Actor Oscar 2020 for Joker; nominated for Best Actor for Walk the Line 2005, The Master 2012, Her 2013, Napoleon 2023), River Phoenix (1970-1993), Rain Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix — one of the most-acclaimed acting families of the late-20th-century. Fawkes the Phoenix — Dumbledore's pet phoenix in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series; central to Chamber of Secrets (1998) and Order of the Phoenix (2003). Phoenix, Arizona — the 5th-largest US city and capital of Arizona since 1889. Phoenix Suns — NBA franchise since 1968. The University of Phoenix — the largest US for-profit private university by enrollment at its peak. Phoenix Mercury — WNBA team; three-time WNBA champions (2007, 2009, 2014); Diana Taurasi's franchise. Phoenix as a girl's name surged through the 2010s alongside other unisex word-names (Sage, Sky, River); first entered US top-1000 girls' names in 2003.
Featured throughout world mythology and 21st-century American culture.
In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Phoenix reduce to 1, The Leader. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.