Show ContentsPhilbee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Philbee family

The surname Philbee was first found in Norfolk at Filby, a parish, in the East and West Flegg incorporation, hundred of East Flegg. 1 This parish dates back to before the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Filebey. 2 Literally the place name means "farmstead or village of a man called Fili or Fila." 3

So, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the village and lands of Filby, held by Thorold, Sheriff of Lincolnshire, from William de Warrenne, a Norman Baron, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. At the time of the Domesday the village contained 10 salthouses and was surrounded by Filbey Broad.

Early History of the Philbee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Philbee research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1202, 1273, 1280, 1315, 1325, 1557, 1581, 1582 and 1886 are included under the topic Early Philbee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Philbee Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Philbee are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Philbee include Filby, Filbey, Filbee, Filbie, Philby, Philbey, Phillbee, Fylbey, Fylby and many more.

Early Notables of the Philbee family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Filbie (c.1557-1582), an English Roman Catholic priest from Oxfordshire. " On 25 March 1581 he was ordained priest in the church of St. Mary at Rheims, by the bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne, and soon afterwards he returned to England upon the mission. He was apprehended at Henley while incautiously attempting to speak to Father Edmund Campion, who was being conducted to London with other prisoners (Simpson, Edmund Campion, p. 228). They were all committed to the Tower, 22 July 1581. Filbie...
Another 88 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Philbee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Philbee family

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Philbee, or a variant listed above: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)


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