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

Philemon, 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 Philemon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Philemon in America

Philemon is the 39164th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Philemon surname appeared 562 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Philemon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Philemon 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 Philemon

The surname Philemon has its origins in ancient Greece. It is derived from the Greek name Philemon, which means "beloved" or "affectionate". The name is composed of the Greek words "philos" meaning "beloved" and "emon" meaning "one who loves".

The earliest known reference to the name Philemon dates back to ancient Greek literature. Philemon was a Greek biographical poet who lived in the late 4th century BC. He was a contemporary of the famous Greek philosophers Plato and Xenophon.

In the New Testament of the Bible, there is a book called "The Epistle of Paul to Philemon". It is believed that the epistle was written by the Apostle Paul to a Christian convert named Philemon, who lived in the city of Colossae in Asia Minor.

The surname Philemon first appeared in written records in various parts of Europe during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror.

In the 13th century, there was a notable figure named Philemon de la Garde, who was a French knight and crusader. He participated in the Seventh Crusade, which took place between 1248 and 1254.

Another historical figure with the surname Philemon was Philemon Holland, an English translator who lived from 1552 to 1637. He is best known for his translations of various works by classical authors, including Pliny the Elder's "Natural History" and Livy's "History of Rome".

In the 16th century, there was a Dutch theologian and philosopher named Philemon Mersenne, who lived from 1588 to 1648. He is remembered for his contributions to the fields of mathematics, music theory, and philosophy.

During the 18th century, a British writer and poet named Philemon Robinson lived from 1709 to 1778. He is best known for his work "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse", which was a popular children's fable.

The surname Philemon has also been associated with various place names throughout history. For example, there is a town called Philemonville in Ohio, USA, which was named after a early settler named Philemon Beecher.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Philemon

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

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 Philemon 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 Philemon 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 Philemon was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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