Philine

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “friendly; loveable.”
Germ (fee-LEE-neh)

The name was possibly coined by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe for a character in his 1796 novel, Wilhelm Meister’s Aprenticeship. It is most likely derived from the Greek, philein, philéo meaning “friendly, loveable”.

The name has been borne by German actress, Philine Leudesdorff-Tormin (1892-1924) and German opera singer, Philine Fischer (1919-2001).

Currently, Philine is the 407th most popular female name in Germany, (2011).