like the groundhog, phil
The character of Phil Connors is named Phil because that is the name of the groundhog in Punxsutawney's Groundhog Day celebration, as Rubin (2012) explains: And who is the center of attention for the festivities in Punxsutawney? A groundhog named Phil. For the time being, I decided to call my character Phil as well, hoping that somehow there would be resonance created by associating my guy with the groundhog. (p. 15) Many authors have latched onto that link between the two Phils, including of course Benesh (2011) and myself. And, Phil himself makes the connection before he kidnaps the groundhog and kills them both. But, after writing about names yesterday , I wondered if there wasn't some more resonance in Phil's name that just the obvious. The name Philip (or Filippo in the Italian remake, È già ieri ) means "lover of horses." More elaborately, From the Greek name Φιλιππος ( Philippos ) which means "friend of horses", composed of the elements φιλ...