The name Fils came to England with the ancestors of the Fils family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the ancient given name Phillip.Phillip derives from the Greek name Phillipos, which derives from the words philein, meaning to love, and hippos, meaning horse.
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Early Origins of the Fils family
The surname Fils was first found in Berwickshire. However some of the family were also found in the parish of Windermere in Westmorland. "The church [of Windermere], situated at Bowness, is a simple and venerable edifice, of which the east window of stained glass is said to have been brought from Furness Abbey: there are several curious memorials of the Philipson family, once the owners of Rayrigg, Calgarth, and the Island; and among the monuments of modern date." 1
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Early History of the Fils family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fils research. Another 168 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1305 and 1450 are included under the topic Early Fils History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Fils Spelling Variations
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Phillipson, Phillippson, Philippson, Philipson and others.
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Early Notables of the Fils family
More information is included under the topic Early Fils Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Fils family
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Fils name or one of its variants: Robert Phillipson settled in Virginia in 1638; John Phillipson settled in Virginia in 1739.
England
