2000
#13,036
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,156
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Phillippi
From a biblical place name, likely referring to someone from the ancient Macedonian city of Philippi.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,262 Americans carry the last name Phillippi. That puts it at #14,528 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,527 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Phillippi surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 151,527
Census rank
#14,528
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,973 bearers of the surname Phillippi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14528th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Phillippi, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Phillippi
The surname Phillippi originated in ancient Rome, derived from the Latin "Philippicus" or "Philippius," which in turn comes from the Greek "Philippos" meaning "lover of horses." It was a common Roman family name, particularly among the equestrian class.
In the early Middle Ages, the name spread throughout the regions of the former Roman Empire, including Italy, France, and the Iberian Peninsula. Historical records from the 9th century mention Philippis living in various regions of present-day Italy and southern France.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name is found in the 11th century Domesday Book, where a William Philippi is listed as a landholder in Gloucestershire, England. This suggests the name had been adopted by Norman nobility and spread to England following the Norman Conquest in 1066.
During the Renaissance and Early Modern periods, the name took on various spellings, such as Philippis, Philippi, and Phillipi, reflecting local linguistic influences. Notable bearers of the name include the Italian painter Camillo Filippis (1588-1673) and the French mathematician and astronomer Jacques Phillippes (1640-1718).
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Phillippi surname was found across Europe, with concentrations in Germany, Italy, and France. Some notable figures were the German botanist Rudolf Amandus Philippi (1808-1904), the Italian dramatist and actor Filippo Filippis (1832-1903), and the French painter Henri-Edmond Phillippi (1843-1919).
As Europeans immigrated to the Americas, the Phillippi name took root in the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances was Johann Philipp Phillippi, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1730s. Another prominent bearer was the Italian-American artist Ettore Philippi (1864-1942), known for his sculptures and monuments in New York City.
Throughout its long history, the Phillippi surname has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, soldiers, and tradesmen, reflecting the diverse paths taken by those who carried this name of ancient Roman origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Phillippi
Among Census respondents with the surname Phillippi, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Phillippi bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Phillippi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 1,824
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 57
- Two or more races2.6% · 51
- Black or African American1.0% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Phillippi
Phillippi appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,609
+453 bearers (+21.0%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 1,065 places
2020
#14,528
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,973
-636 bearers (-24.4%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 2,557 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,036 | 2,156 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,971 | 2,609 | 0.88 | +453 bearers (+21.0%) | Up 1,065 places |
| 2020 | #14,528 | 1,973 | 0.66 | -636 bearers (-24.4%) | Down 2,557 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Phillippi surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,971 | #14,528 | -21.4% |
| Count | 2,609 | 1,973 | -24.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.66 | -25.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Phillippi bearers went from 2,609 to 1,973 (-24.4% change). The surname moved down 2,557 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,971 to #14,528.
FAQ
Phillippi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Phillippi?
Name Census estimates that about 2,262 living Americans carry the surname Phillippi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,527 residents.
How common is Phillippi?
Phillippi ranks #14,528 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,973 people with the surname Phillippi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,262), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Phillippi.
Has Phillippi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Phillippi went from 2,609 recorded bearers to 1,973. That is a decrease of 636 (-24.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,971 to #14,528.
What does the Census say about the background of Phillippi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Phillippi, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Phillippi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (1,824 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Phillippi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Phillippi (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Phillippi mean?
From a biblical place name, likely referring to someone from the ancient Macedonian city of Philippi. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Phillippi (0.66 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Phillippi?
You can see how many people have the last name Phillippi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.