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

Phillip, 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 Phillip surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Phillip in America

Phillip is the 5108th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Phillip surname appeared 6,857 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Phillip.

We can also compare 2010 data for Phillip 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 Phillip

The surname Phillip originated in Britain during the medieval period. It is derived from the personal name Phillip, which itself comes from the Greek name Philippos, meaning "lover of horses." The name was introduced to Britain by the Normans after the conquest of 1066.

One of the earliest records of the surname Phillip dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Philipus." This suggests that the name had already become established in England by the late 11th century.

In the 12th century, the surname Phillip is found in various records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1191, which mention a "Radulfus Philipp." Other early spellings of the name include "Philippe," "Philipe," and "Philipp."

The surname Phillip has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir John Phillip (c. 1340-1415), a Welsh soldier and landowner who fought in the Hundred Years' War. Another prominent individual was Sir Robert Phillip (c. 1587-1647), an English parliamentarian and supporter of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War.

In the literary world, John Phillip (1631-1709) was an English poet and writer best known for his work "The Splendid Shilling." Other notable bearers of the surname include William Phillip (1731-1781), a British naval officer and the first Governor of New South Wales, Australia, and Arthur Phillip (1738-1814), a British admiral and the first Governor of the colony of New South Wales.

The surname Phillip has also been associated with various place names, such as Phillip Island in Victoria, Australia, named after Arthur Phillip, and Phillip County, Kansas, named after William Phillip, the naval officer.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Phillip

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

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

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

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