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Home › Baby Names Directory › Phillips

Phillips

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Phillips

Pronounced FIL-ips /ˈfɪl.ɪps/High

Meaning: Phillips is a patronymic surname meaning 'son of Philip', used as a given name. Philip itself comes from the Greek Philippos, from philos, 'loving', and hippos, 'horse' - 'lover of horses'. As a first name Phillips carries that classical root through its surname parent.Medium

In 30 seconds: Phillips is a surname meaning 'son of Philip', from a Greek name meaning 'lover of horses', used as a given name. It stayed rare (said 'FIL-ips').
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Origin MediumEnglish, Greek
MeaningPhillips is a patronymic surname meaning 'son of Philip', used as a given name. Philip itself comes from the Greek Philippos, from philos, 'loving', and hippos, 'horse' - 'lover of horses'. As a first name Phillips carries that classical root through its surname parent.
U.S. rank (2023)#10516 ↗ Rising
2023 U.S. births7 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1949
Total births (all-time)≈ 1,331

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 194919042023

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Phillips is a patronymic surname, 'son of Philip', pressed into service as a given name. Philip descends from the Greek Philippos, 'lover of horses'. The practice of using such family surnames as first names gave Phillips its small early-twentieth-century run in American records.

Phillips was never common as a first name - only a few dozen boys a year at its faint peak around 1949. It reads as a surname-name, familiar as a family name yet unusual as a personal one, and it has stayed a rarity in given-name use.

Did you know? Buried in Phillips is the Greek hippos, 'horse' - the same root that gives us hippopotamus - so this surname reaches back to 'lover of horses'.
Overall data confidence 55%
References - Phillips / Philip — Patronymic surname 'son of Philip'; Greek 'lover of horses'; surname-name use

Variations

PhilipsPhillipPhilipPhillipps

Nicknames

PhilFlip

Famous Bearers

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If you like Phillips…

Phillip— the base name meaning 'lover of horses'
Philip— the classic spelling of the same root
Jennings— another patronymic surname used as a given name
Pierre— another Greek name
Perrin— another Greek name

Explore names like Phillips

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Phillips mean?

Phillips is a surname meaning 'son of Philip', from a Greek name meaning 'lover of horses', used as a given name.

How do you pronounce Phillips?

It's said FIL-ips /ˈfɪl.ɪps/ - two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Phillips a boy or girl name?

Phillips is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Phillips?

Phillips has always been rare as a first name, a surname most familiar as a family name.

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