MEANING & HISTORY
What does Basil mean?
Basil comes from Greek Basileios, derived from basileus, king. Royal or kingly expresses the adjective underlying the name.
Saint Basil the Great, a fourth-century bishop of Caesarea, is a major Christian association, and Byzantine emperors also bore forms of the name. This personal-name history is distinct from treating Basil simply as a modern English herb word. Both may suggest familiar associations, but the Greek naming formation supplies the relevant explanation here.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
Name of several early saints, particularly in the Orthodox Church, from Latin Basilius, from Ancient Greek Βασίλειος (Basíleios). Doublet of Vasilios and Vasily.
A male given name from Ancient Greek, in quiet but steady use in the UK.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Basil
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Basil Valdez
Filipino singer
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Basel Manadil
Syrian-Filipino blogger
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
2
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Basil Valdez, Basel Manadil
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Basil in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Basil
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Basir·Seeing or perceptive in Arabic; also glossed wise as a name
- Baki♂Cebuano familiar form of Frank or Franklin
- Baris♂Unmarked Turkish Barış form; peace
- Basilia♀Feminine Basil-name form; royal
- Basilio♂Royal or kingly
- Baby♂♀English infant word used as a personal name
- Bailey♂♀Bailiff; from an occupational surname
- Balet♀Familiar form of Valeriana or Valentina
What rhymes with Basil?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Explore Basil further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q4926514 — Basil (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata given-name item Q60576346 — Basil (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Basil Valdez (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q4926514 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Basel Manadil (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q60576346 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Basil (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Basil (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.