Basil
Featured in baby name books
Basil is from Greek and means “royal” or “kingly,” deriving from Basilios. Famous Basils include actor Basil Rathbone, Saint Basil, and John Cleese’s hotel manager Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers. Basil is also the name of a popular herb, and one source adds an Arabic reading, “brave.”
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Unusual Baby Names, Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
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Usage of Basil in different languages / cultures
The list below was created by gathering names from various sources for different languages, and then matching Basil against each list of names.
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Albanian
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Arabic
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Armenian
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Bengali
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Bulgarian
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Catalan
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Chinese
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Cornish
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Croatian
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Czech
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Danish
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Dothraki
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Dutch
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English
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Estonian
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Filipino
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Finnish
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French
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Georgian
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German
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Greek
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Hawaiian
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Hebrew
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Hindi
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Hungarian
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Icelandic
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Indonesian
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Irish
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Italian
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Japanese
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Khmer
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Klingon
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Korean
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Latin
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Latvian
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Lithuanian
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Macedonian
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Norwegian
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Persian
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Polish
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Portuguese
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Romanian
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Russian
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Scottish
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Serbian
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Slovak
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Slovenian
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Spanish
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Swahili
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Swedish
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Telugu
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Thai
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Turkish
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Ukrainian
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Vietnamese
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Welsh
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Yiddish
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Yoruba
Note: In some cases it is possible for the check mark to be missing even if Basil is used in a particular country, as almost no source name list has 100% coverage.
Basil in official name statistics
United States
In 2025, 74 boys were named Basil, making it the #2020 boys' name in the US. Since 1880, 13,172 boys have been named Basil, with the most (281) in 1924. It is most common, relative to births, in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and California.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880–2025. Names given to fewer than 5 babies in a year are not listed.
Other countries
| Where | Rank | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium (Flanders) | #183 boys | 32 | Statbel (Belgian federal statistical office), 2024 |
| Switzerland | #625 boys | 11 | Federal Statistical Office (BFS/OFS), BEVNAT, 2025 |
| Belgium (Flanders) | #922 boys (all ages) | 429 | Statbel (Belgian federal statistical office), 2024 |
| Switzerland | #520 boys (all ages) | 1,376 | Federal Statistical Office (BFS/OFS), STATPOP, 2025 |
Counts are babies born that year, or living people for "all ages" rows, as published by each country's statistics office or population register.
Basil in other languages
- Basilio Italian, Spanish
- Васил Bulgarian, Macedonian
- Pasi Finnish
- Vasile Romanian
- Vassili Italian
- Василий Russian
- Василь Ukrainian
Source: Wikidata (CC0).
Towns named Basil
There are 14 towns and villages with Basil in their name, in 7 countries.
🇪🇬 Egypt 6🇮🇶 Iraq 2🇺🇸 United States 2🇭🇹 Haiti 1🇵🇭 Philippines 1🇵🇰 Pakistan 1🇹🇷 Turkey 1
| Name | Where | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basil | Artibonite, 🇭🇹 Haiti | – | Map |
| Basil | Cordillera, 🇵🇭 Philippines | – | Map |
| Basil | Kansas, 🇺🇸 United States | – | Map |
| Basil Gordon | Virginia, 🇺🇸 United States | – | Map |
| Başil | Diyarbakır Province, 🇹🇷 Turkey | – | Map |
| Goth Basil | Balochistan, 🇵🇰 Pakistan | – | Map |
| Dawwār Abū Bāsil | Alexandria, 🇪🇬 Egypt | – | Map |
| Qaryat ‘Abd Allāh al Bāsīl | Kirkuk, 🇮🇶 Iraq | – | Map |
| Qaşr al Bāsil | Faiyum, 🇪🇬 Egypt | – | Map |
| ‘Arkūb al Başīl | Salah ad Din, 🇮🇶 Iraq | – | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Lakes named Basil
There are 4 lakes and reservoirs with Basil in their name, in 2 countries.
🇨🇦 Canada 3🇺🇸 United States 1
| Name | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| Basil Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Basil Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Basil Lake | Georgia, 🇺🇸 United States | Map |
| Basil Brown Lake | Manitoba, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Celebrities named Basil
Based on celebrities listed on Wikipedia, filtered to only those with the first name Basil.
Basil Charles Godfrey Place
Basil Davey
Basil Hetzel
Basil L. Plumley
See more...
Fictional characters named Basil
Characters from films and TV series, from Wikidata, ordered by how widely they are covered on Wikipedia.
Character data: Wikidata (CC0). Images: Wikimedia Commons; click an image for its author and licence.
Basil as a pet name
FurryName has found 326 dogs named Basil in public pet registers, making it the #355 dog name there. Most of them are registered in Burnside (10), Prospect (3), Burlington (2). Basil as a dog name →
FurryName has found 36 cats named Basil in public pet registers, making it the #210 cat name there. Most of them are registered in Vancouver (6), Corangamite Shire (3), Surf Coast Shire (2). Basil as a cat name →
Basil products
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Basil name mug
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Basil tumbler
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Basil cap
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Basil t-shirt
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Basil necklace
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Basil bracelet
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Basil keychain
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Basil ornament
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Basil baby blanket
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Basil name puzzle
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Basil wall sign
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Basil pillow
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