An English surname, it comes from the given name of Philip. Originally a Greek word of ‘Philippos‘, it was two words joined. There was ‘philein‘, which meant to love and ‘hippos‘, which meant a horse. So Phillips is a lover of horses.

In Italian the surname would be spelled Filippi and in Polish it is spelled Filipowicz.

Other spellings for Phillips include , Philipps, Philipse, Phelps, Phelips and Phelops.

Within Scotland the center for most with the Phillips surname are in Lanarkshire county. In England there is a large number of Phillips in the London area. Wales has a very high population of residents with the Phillips surname, especially in Glamorgan county. The states of Illinois, Ohio, New York, California and Pennsylvania has the greater populations for Phillips as a surname.

Famous: Alban William Phillips (developer of ‘Phillips Curve’ which is a relation between inflation and unemployment), Chynna Phillips (singer), Henry F. Phillips (inventor of the Phillips screw and screwdriver), Horatio F. Phillips (inventor of the airfoil design), Josh Phillips (actor), Tripp Phillips (professional tennis player), John Phillips (18thcentury captain of a pirate ship) and William Phillips (founder the Geological Society of London).