The Phillips Family

Phillips Name Origins

ENGLISH
Philip, Philips, Philipse, Phillipp, Phillipps, Phillphs, Phillipss, Phillips, Phillpse, Philp, Philps, Phillp, Phillps, Phelips, Phelops, Phelp, Phelps, Phalp: Greek, 'horse lover', usually latinized as Philippus. the vernacular form seems to have been Phelip which is not confined to the south-west...It was also used as a woman's name, latinized Philippa. A Dictionary of English Names, Revised Editon by P H Reaney

Philip, Philipp, Philipps, Philips,   more...Phillipp, Phillipps, Phillips, Phillipson: Bapt. 'the son of Philip.' There is little need of instances for this batch of amiliar surnames. Philip ceased to be popular as a font-name after the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth for patriotic reasons. Nevertheless its earlier predominance has given it immortality in our directories...seen in Co Kent 1273, Co Yorkshire 1617
A Dictionary of English & Welsh Surnames by Charles Bardsley




WELSH
Phillips: Philip was a popular forename in med. England, probably because it was the name of several early saints; it was derived from Greek Philipos 'lover of horses'. It was imported into Wales quickly and is quite numerous in late 13C Mer (LS) as Phelip, the spelling which led to Phe: being a standard abbreviation in early records. By 15C it is found in small numbers in several parts of Wales, but was concentrated in the southern areas, especially Gwent & Morgannwg, where it reached 3%. As it averaged 1% for all Wales, it was bound to form a significant modern surname by the patronymic route. The variant spellings of the surname/family name are a modern indexer's nightmare: one smll are has in 17018C marriages Philip, Philipp, Philipps, Philips, Phillip, Phillipp, Phillips...Philipps was the chosen spelling of the family of Picton Caslte (Pembrokeshire), later Lords Milford...in the same count but paralleled in others, clergy and clerks frequently spelled the foreman (by 18C very common) Phillip, leading to the predominance of Phillips in modern families. Philps and Philpin are other variants of Philip, chiefly found in Pembrokeshire, though some may be of southwest English origin. 1813-37: The surname is found across Wales but is far more common in the south than the north and more common in the west than in the east. The Surnames of Wales, by John & Sheila Rowland




SCOTTISH
Philip, Phillips: From a Greek word meaning 'lover of horses'; the name became famous in the person of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Rauf Philippe, a Berwickshire landowner, figures in teh Ragman Roll of 1296; Robert Phillope was sheriff clerk of Dunfries in 1629; and James Philip, an Angus laird, was author of the Graemiad, an epic poem in Latin on the Claverhouse campaign of 1689. In the south the name can be contracted to Phelps or Phipps; in Scotland the shortend form is Philp, which was and is particularly common in Fife (it also approximates to the local pronunciation). Stephen Philp was bailie of Newburgh in 1473, and Sir James Philp was curate at Abdie around the same time. John Philp was abbot of Lindores from 1522 to 1560...The pleonastic form MacPhillips is also found but the commoner version is MacKillop. Scottish Surnames by David Dorward




IRISH
Phillips: In modern times this English name has to some extent taken the place of Philbin. With the prefix Mac it is found in Cavan and Monaghan and there is usually a branch of the Scottish clan MacDonnell of Keppoch.

(Mac) Philbin: Mac Philbin (a diminutive of Philip). The name of one of the hibernicized brances of the Connacht Burkes which formed a sept of the Irish type. O'Donovan says there were two branches one in Mayo and one in Co. Galway. The Surnames of Ireland by Edward MacLysaght  less