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Philip History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Philip History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Wales

The Philip family can find its origins within the landscape of Medieval France, particularly in that coastal region once known as Normandy. Their name is derived from the ancient Greek name Phillippos, which is composed of the elements philos, meaning love, and hippos, meaning horse, and indicated a person who loved horses.

Early Origins of the Philip family

The surname Philip was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat as an aristocratic family at Marigny. Conjecturally, this family may be descended from Phillip, the Count of Namur, but there have been many Kings of this name including Philip I, King of France, King Philip Augustus, Philip the Bold, Philip of Valois, or Philip of France, Duke of Burgundy, and many saints, bishops, Dukes, and other nobility and place names.

Early History of the Philip family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Philip research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1291, 1361, 1584, 1643, 1667, 1671, 1687, 1699, 1727 and 1783 are included under the topic Early Philip History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Philip Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous spelling alterations depending on the region and time it was used. The early development of the French language relied heavily on borrowing elements and grammar from other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Philip is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Philippe, Phillippe, Phillippes, Philippes, Philipp, Phillipp, Phelipe, Phelippe, Phellippe, Phellippes, Philipe, Phillipes, Philip, Phillip and many more.

Early Notables of the Philip family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

Philippe of Vitry, Composer of music and counselor to Jean, Duke of Normandy, 1291-1361
Louis Phélypeaux (1643-1727), was Marquis de Phélypeaux (1667), Comte de Maurepas (1687), Comte de Pontchartrain (1699), known as the Chancellor de Pontchartrain, was a French politician. Isle Phelipe...

Philip Ranking

In the United States, the name Philip is the 6,527^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Philip is ranked the 2,715^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 2

Philip migration to the United States +

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Philip has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Philip were

Philip Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johan Philip, who arrived in New York in 1709 3
Hans Philip, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1728 3
Lambrecht Philip, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 3
John Nichs Philip, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1765 3
Caspar Philip, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Philip Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Carl Philip, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1804 3
Gottfried Wilhelm Philip, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1804 3
Angel Philip, aged 32, who arrived in Mobile County, Ala in 1840 3
H Philip, aged 29, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 3
James Philip, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Philip Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. John Philip, (b. 1884), aged 19, Cornish farmer, from Liskeard, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Celtic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 24th April 1903 en route to Winnipeg, Manitoba, USA 4
Mr. James Henry Philip, (b. 1877), aged 27, Cornish labourer, from St Newlyn East, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Cedric" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 15th April 1904 en route to Norway, Michigan, USA 4

Philip migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Philip Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Oliver Philip, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lady Emma" in 1837 5
Phillippa Philip, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lady Emma" in 1837 5
John Philip, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lady Emma" in 1837 5
Mr. George H. Philip, (b. 1858), aged 20, Cornish painter travelling aboard the ship "Pericles" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 10th November 1878 6
Mrs. Ellen J. Philip, (b. 1859), aged 19, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Pericles" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 10th November 1878 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Philip migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Philip Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Margaret Philip, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Sevilla" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd December 1859 7
David Philip, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Beauty" in 1863
Helen Philip, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Beauty" in 1863
Margaret Philip, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Beauty" in 1863
James A. Philip, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Beauty" in 1863
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Philip (post 1700) +

James Peyton "Pate" Philip (1930-2023), American politician
James "Pate" Philip (b. 1930), American Republican
André Philip (1902-1970), French politician
Robert Philip (1791-1858), Scottish divine, born at Huntly in Aberdeenshire
John Birnie Philip (1824-1875), English sculptor, son of William and Elizabeth Philip, born in London; the family was originally from Scotland
Dr John Philip (1775-1851), Scottish missionary in South Africa, son of a schoolmaster of Kirkcaldy, Fife
Alexander Philip Wilson Philip (1770-1851), Scottish physician and physiologist, his surname being originally Wilson; he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society and on his way to London, he assumed the additional surname of Philip
Ira Philip (1925-2018), Bermudian writer and politician
Vincent Philip d'Onofrio (b. 1959), American actor, director, producer, writer, and singer, known for his roles as Edgar/the Bug in Men in Black, Detective Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent and most recently as Wilson Fisk in the Netflix series Daredevil
Walter Philip Reuther (1907-1970), American trade union leader and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) LADY EMMA 1837. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1837LadyEmma.htm
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 19). Emigrants to Australia NSW 1860 -88 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/nsw_passenger_lists_1860_88.pdf
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html