2000
#1,429
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,919
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.50
Uncommon Last name
Phipps
Derived from the Old English personal name "Phip", which is a short form of "Philip", meaning "lover of horses".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 25,672 Americans carry the last name Phipps. That puts it at #1,563 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,351 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Phipps 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Phipps with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,351
Census rank
#1,563
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
22K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,387 bearers of the surname Phipps in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1563rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Phipps, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Phipps
The surname Phipps originated in England and is believed to have derived from the Old English personal name Philip, which itself comes from the Greek name Philippos, meaning "lover of horses." The Phipps name emerged as an English patronymic surname, indicating "son of Philip."
The earliest recorded instances of the Phipps surname date back to the 13th century, with references found in various medieval records and documents. One notable mention is in the Hundredorum Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1273, which lists a William Philippes.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled in various ways, including Philippes, Philippes, and Phylyppes, reflecting the different regional pronunciations and spelling conventions of the time. Some early records also indicate variations like Phippen and Phippson.
The name Phipps has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. In the 16th century, Sir Thomas Phipps (c. 1520-1583) was a prominent English politician and Member of Parliament. Another early bearer of the name was Sir Constantine Phipps (c. 1567-1619), an English Lord Mayor of London.
In the 18th century, Constantine John Phipps (1744-1792) was a notable British naval officer and explorer, best known for his unsuccessful attempt to find a Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He was later appointed the first Baron Mulgrave in recognition of his achievements.
Another significant figure was Sir William Phipps (1651-1695), a colonial American from Massachusetts who is remembered for his successful expedition to recover sunken Spanish treasure from a shipwreck off the coast of Florida.
In the 19th century, Sir Constantine Henry Phipps (1797-1863) was a British naval officer and politician who served as the First Lord of the Admiralty. Additionally, Henry Phipps (1839-1930) was an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Carnegie Steel Company with Andrew Carnegie.
While the Phipps surname is primarily associated with England and its colonial offshoots, it has also been documented in other parts of the world, likely due to migration and dispersal over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Phipps
Among Census respondents with the surname Phipps, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Phipps 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 Phipps surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.4% · 17,554
- Black or African American12.1% · 2,717
- Two or more races4.3% · 959
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 886
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 143
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 128
Timeline
Historical Census data for Phipps
Phipps 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
#1,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,610
+691 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 8.00
Rank movement Down 90 places
2020
#1,563
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,387
-1,223 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 7.49
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,429 | 22,919 | 8.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,519 | 23,610 | 8.00 | +691 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 90 places |
| 2020 | #1,563 | 22,387 | 7.49 | -1,223 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 44 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 Phipps 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 | #1,519 | #1,563 | -2.9% |
| Count | 23,610 | 22,387 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 8.00 | 7.49 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Phipps bearers went from 23,610 to 22,387 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,519 to #1,563.
FAQ
Phipps surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Phipps?
Name Census estimates that about 25,672 living Americans carry the surname Phipps. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,351 residents.
How common is Phipps?
Phipps ranks #1,563 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.49 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,387 people with the surname Phipps. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (25,672), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.49 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Phipps.
Has Phipps become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Phipps went from 23,610 recorded bearers to 22,387. That is a decrease of 1,223 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,519 to #1,563.
What does the Census say about the background of Phipps?
Among Census respondents with the surname Phipps, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Phipps in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (17,554 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Phipps appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.4%), Black (12.1%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Phipps (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 Phipps mean?
Derived from the Old English personal name "Phip", which is a short form of "Philip", meaning "lover of horses". 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 Phipps (7.49 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 Phipps?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.