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FACT: "phillips" is English, Dutch, North German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): patronymic from the personal name Philip .
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Phillips History
The original Phillips seem to have been the ancient Britons living in and around Moors in Wales. The surname was comes from the personal
name Philip which was usually pronounced Philippus. My ancestor from German was named Phillipus Flick. It probably has Greek origins
and was composed of the words "philein," which means "to love," and "hippos," which means "horse."
Early Origins of the Phillips family
The surname Phillips was first found in Kent, where legend has it that the family (but not the surname) is descended from Maximus, the
Briton, Roman Emperor from 383 until his death in 388, and the King of Britain, when he married the daughter of Octavius, King of
the Britons. Later the family was forced back into Wales by the invading Saxons, where they traditionally claim descent from Tudwal
(c.AD 528-564) "of the wounded knee," a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, first King of Wales.
Phillips Spelling Variations
There are relatively few surnames native to Wales, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. Early variations
of Welsh surnames can be explained by the fact that very few people in the early Middle Ages were literate. Priests and the few other
literate people were responsible for recording names in official documents. And because most people could not specific how to properly
record their names it was up to the individual recorder of that time to determine how a spoken name should be recorded. Variations
due to the imprecise or improper recording of a name continued later in history when names originally composed in the Brythonic Celtic,
language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, were transliterated into English. Welsh names that were documented in English often
changed dramatically since the native language of Wales, which was highly inflected, did not copy well. Occasionally, however, spelling
variations were carried out according to an individual's specific design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or
even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by minor variations.
The spelling variations of the name Phillips have included Phillips, Philips, Phillip, Philip, Pilip, Pillips, Fillip, Filip,
Filips, Phillipes, Philipes, Phillup, Philups, Fillups, Filups, Pilups, Pillups, Fulop and many more.
Early Notables of the Phillips family (pre 1700)
Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Sion Phylip (1543-1620), Welsh poet, son of Phylip ap Morgan; Sir
Robert Phelips (1560-1614), English Speaker of the House of Commons and master of the rolls, was fourth and youngest son of Thomas
Phelips (1500-1588) of Montacute, Somerset. Miles Philips (fl. 1587), was an English mariner with Captain John Hawkyns on his voyage
of 1568. He and another 114 were put ashore near Panuco, Mexico. They were captured and indentured as domestic servants. Philips also
worked in a mine where over four years accumulated some four thousand pieces of eight.
Some of the key surnames in my Phillips tree are:
- Knape
- Glenn
- Meyer
- Wessels
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