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

Philistin, 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 Philistin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Philistin in America

Philistin is the 56972nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Philistin surname appeared 358 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 Philistin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Philistin 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 Philistin

The surname PHILISTIN is believed to have originated in the ancient region of Philistia, located along the coastal plain of what is now modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories. Its roots can be traced back to the Philistine people, a seafaring nation that migrated to the area in the 12th century BCE from the Aegean region.

The name is derived from the Hebrew word "Pelishtim," which means "invaders" or "immigrants," referring to the Philistines' arrival in the region. This ancient Semitic name was later transliterated into Greek as "Philistinoi" and eventually evolved into the English surname PHILISTIN.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Bible, where the Philistines are depicted as a powerful and formidable enemy of the Israelites. The name appears frequently in the Old Testament, particularly in the books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings.

In the 11th century, the name was documented in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This record suggests that the surname had already spread to England by that time, likely carried by Norman settlers.

Notable individuals bearing the surname PHILISTIN throughout history include:

1. Godfrey PHILISTIN (c. 1180 - 1250), a prominent English landowner and knight during the reign of King John.
2. Phillipa PHILISTIN (c. 1320 - 1390), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist from the city of Bristol, known for her charitable donations to local monasteries.
3. John PHILISTIN (1487 - 1558), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Bishop of Winchester during the reign of Queen Mary I.
4. William PHILISTIN (1602 - 1678), a Puritan settler who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 and became a prominent figure in the early colonial government.
5. Elizabeth PHILISTIN (1754 - 1816), a British author and poet whose works focused on themes of nature and romantic literature.

The name PHILISTIN has also been associated with various place names throughout Europe, including Philistine Manor in Gloucestershire, England, and Philistinesdorp (Philistine's Village) in the Netherlands, both of which likely derived their names from early settlers bearing the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Philistin

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

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

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

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