Find out how popular the last name Phelps is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Phelps.

Phelps, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Phelps surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Phelps in America

Phelps is the 657th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Phelps surname appeared 52,044 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 18 people would have the surname Phelps.

We can also compare 2010 data for Phelps to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Phelps

The surname Phelps has its origins in England, dating back to the 12th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "felep," meaning a maker or seller of felts or woolen cloth. The name was likely adopted by individuals involved in the wool trade or the production of felted materials.

In the Domesday Book, a census survey conducted in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror, there are records of individuals with the surname Phelps or similar spellings like Felep and Phelep. These early mentions indicate the name's presence in various parts of England during the Norman period.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Phelps is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191, where a person named Reginald Phelep is mentioned. Another early record is from the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1208, which includes a reference to a William Phelep.

The surname Phelps has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Phelps Farm in Leicestershire and Phelps Manor in Wiltshire. These place names likely derived from individuals or families who bore the surname and owned or resided in those locations.

Notable individuals with the surname Phelps throughout history include:

1. William Phelps (c.1592-1672), an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut.
2. Oliver Phelps (1749-1809), an American merchant and land speculator who played a significant role in the settlement of western New York state.
3. John Phelps (1814-1886), an American artist known for his landscape paintings, particularly of the Hudson River Valley.
4. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (1844-1911), an American author and pioneer in the field of female writers, best known for her novel "The Gates Ajar."
5. William Lyon Phelps (1865-1943), an American author, critic, and professor of English literature at Yale University, known for his influential works on literature and his popular lecture series.

While the surname Phelps has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and other English-speaking countries, through migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Phelps

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Phelps.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Phelps was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Phelps has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Phelps was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Phelps, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!