2000
#18,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,382
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.51
Rare Last name
Philyaw
A surname derived from the Greek word "philos" meaning friend or lover.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,587 Americans carry the last name Philyaw. That puts it at #19,527 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 215,976 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Philyaw 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
1.6K
1 in 215,976
Census rank
#19,527
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,384 bearers of the surname Philyaw in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19527th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Philyaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Philyaw
The surname Philyaw is believed to have originated in England, possibly in the late medieval period or earlier. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the name Philpot, which itself is derived from the personal name Philip, a name of Greek origin meaning "lover of horses."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Philyaw can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Essex in 1524, where a John Philyaw is listed among the taxpayers. This suggests that the name was already established in that region by the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears in several parish records, including the baptism of Margery Philyaw in 1635 in St. Giles Cripplegate, London. A John Philyaw was also recorded as a resident of Saffron Walden, Essex, in 1642.
The name Philyaw may have been influenced by local place names or dialect variations, as was common with many surnames during that era. For example, the nearby village of Philpott End in Hertfordshire could have contributed to the spelling variation.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Philyaw include William Philyaw (1655-1721), a landowner and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and his son, also named William Philyaw (1687-1759), who served as a justice of the peace in Essex County, Virginia.
In the 19th century, John Philyaw (1802-1878) was a prominent figure in the early settlement of Texas, having emigrated from Tennessee and established a homestead in what is now Austin County.
Another notable bearer of the name was Henry Philyaw (1846-1926), a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War and later a farmer and community leader in North Carolina.
While the name Philyaw is relatively uncommon, it has persisted through the centuries, with various spellings and geographical distributions. Its origins can be traced back to medieval England and its connection to the personal name Philip, reflecting the rich tapestry of naming traditions and linguistic influences that have shaped many modern surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Philyaw
Among Census respondents with the surname Philyaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Philyaw 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 Philyaw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.6% · 1,019
- Black or African American18.8% · 260
- Two or more races4.6% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Philyaw
Philyaw 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
#19,334
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,400
+18 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Down 887 places
2020
#19,527
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,384
-16 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.46
Rank movement Down 193 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,447 | 1,382 | 0.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,334 | 1,400 | 0.47 | +18 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 887 places |
| 2020 | #19,527 | 1,384 | 0.46 | -16 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 193 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 Philyaw 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 | #19,334 | #19,527 | -1.0% |
| Count | 1,400 | 1,384 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.47 | 0.46 | -1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Philyaw bearers went from 1,400 to 1,384 (-1.1% change). The surname moved down 193 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,334 to #19,527.
FAQ
Philyaw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Philyaw?
Name Census estimates that about 1,587 living Americans carry the surname Philyaw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 215,976 residents.
How common is Philyaw?
Philyaw ranks #19,527 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,384 people with the surname Philyaw. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,587), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Philyaw.
Has Philyaw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Philyaw went from 1,400 recorded bearers to 1,384. That is a decrease of 16 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #19,334 to #19,527.
What does the Census say about the background of Philyaw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Philyaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Philyaw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.6% (1,019 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Philyaw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.6%), Black (18.8%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Philyaw (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 Philyaw mean?
A surname derived from the Greek word "philos" meaning friend or lover. 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 Philyaw (0.46 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 surname Philyaw?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.