Name of the Week: Philip

Origin:

The Anglicised form of the Ancient Greek name Philippos, composed of the elements φιλος (philos) "friend, dear, friendly" and ‘ιππος (hippos) "horse." The second element of "horse" denotes high status in Ancient Greek nomenclature and is found in many aristocratic names. Horses were an extremely important part of Greek society and were represented frequently art and mythology. They were highly prized and cherished animals: representing wealth, as only the rich could afford to keep them, and were essential for many "upper-class" activities such as hunting, chariot riding or horse racing.

Usage:

The name Philippos was well used in Antiquity, especially among the elite. The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names has well over a thousand instances of the name from written sources, showing its good use. The most famous bearer of these men is undoubtedly Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Known as a great commander, he built a formidable army, with which his son was later able to consolidate an empire, and conquered most of Greece under Macedonian rule during his reign.  The name Philip was then passed among the rulers of the Hellenic world, passing on to a Roman emperor -- Philip the Arab (c. 204–249) -- and other Roman aristocrats, as well as a Byzantine emperor. Even more influentially, the name Philip was borne by two biblical figures of the New Testament -- St Philip the Apostle and St Philip the Evangelist -- regarded as major Christian saints. Thanks to them, the name was common in the Middle Ages, borne by several Frankish kings from the 11th to 14th century, and spreading to noble houses throughout Europe.  In his rankings of records from 10 English counties in 1377-81, Redmonds puts Philip at #17, next to Gilbert and Reginald, categorising it between "quite popular" and "infrequent." This frequency of the name's usage can be attested by the many surnames it produced, such as Phelps, Phillips, Phillipson, Philkin, Philcox, Phipps and Philson. Though Philip was quite common for men, it was also used for several women as well. Though Philippa was the official Latin form recorded for these women, they were actually called Philip in everyday life. Queen Philippa of Hainault is recorded as Phelip, Philippe, and Phillip; while a Nottinghamshire will in 1532 refers to "Fillipe my doughter" [sic]. By the 16th century, Philip was firmly established as a royal name on the Continent, being borne by kings of France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Burgundy. It became an English regnal name in 1554 when Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) married Mary I and became co-ruler. During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power and its colonies were numerous, including the Philippines which were named in his honour.  However, on the death of Mary in 1558, Philip lost his right to the throne of England and Ireland. Elizabeth I was now on the throne, and the former regime was very much out of favour. Philip tried to oust Elizabeth when he sent the Armada in 1588 but proved unsuccessful. The impact of this change can be seen in Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 in England, which shows a dip in the name after the 1560s:  1538-49: #18; 1550-9: #13; 1560-9: #14; 1570-9: #25; 1580-9: #23; 1590-9: #26; 1600-9: #32; 1610-9: #25; 1620-9: #22; 1630-9: #27; 1640-9: #28; 1650-9: #29; 1660-9: #21; 1670-9: #25; 1680-9: #26; 1690-1700: #32. Its rank remained quite consistent over the following centuries; in Dunkling's rankings for England and Wales, Philip ranks #25 in 1700 and #24 in 1800.  It was clearly common enough for Philip, or the short for Phip, was given as a vernacular name for the dunnock bird.  Data from the Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) Throughout the 19th century, Philip ranked within the top 50 of England and Wales:  1860: #38 (Phillip #106) 1870: #42 (Phillip #134) 1880: #43 (Phillip #174) 1890: #48  1900: #48 click to enlarge It remained fairly steady around the #50 mark until 1944 when it moved up to #32. Ten years later in 1954 it peaked at #16 -- a move which may have been promoted by the marriage of Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark to Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) in 1947. It remained in the top 30 until the 1980s, after which it gradually declined. By 1994, Philip ranked #79; two years later, in 1996, it had dropped sharply out of the top 100 to #103.  The name saw a further decline after that until it plateaued around the #300 mark after 2004. In Scotland, Philip was more moderately popular, ranking #57 in 1900, #45 in 1950, #60 in 1975 and #86 in 1990. It fell out of the top 100 in 1992 and has been on a steady decline as in England and Wales.  In 2014, Philip ranked #288 (160 births) in England and Wales and #336 (11 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: 5 kings of Macedon. 6 kings of France. 6 kings of Spain. 3 kings of Portugal. 7 Dukes of Burgundy. 1 king of Sweden. * Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (b. 1921), consort of Elizabeth II.  * Felipe VI of Spain (b.1968), King of Spain. * Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (b. 1979), King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and third in line to the Swedish throne. History: * Philippus of Croton (c. 6th century BC) Olympic victor and legendary hero. * Philip (4th century BC), general of Alexander the Great. * Saint Philip the Apostle (d. c. 80 AD), one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. * Saint Philip the Evangelist (1st century AD), christian evangelist of the New Testament. * Philippus of Thessalonica (1st century AD), epigrammatic Greek poet and compiler of an Anthology. * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman emperor. * Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586), English poet. * Philip Larkin (1922–1985), British poet. Contemporary: * Philip Pullman (b. 1946), British novelist. * Phil Collins (b.1951), British singer and drummer, formerly of Genesis. Literature and Other Media: * Philip "Pip", a character from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations (1861). * Prince Phillip, a character from Disney's film Sleeping Beauty (1957). * Philip Banks aka 'Uncle Phil', a character from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Variants:

Phillip; Philippe (French), Philipp (German), Felipe (Spanish), Filippo (Italian), Filipe (Portuguese), Filippos (Greek), Filip (Hungarian, Macedonian, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene), Pilib (Irish), Filib (Scottish)

Pronunciation:

FIL-əp [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Phil, Pip, Phip

Sibling Names:

Julia     Susannah     Ruth     Bridget     Caroline     Louise  Peter     Laurence     Niall     Robert     Francis     Ralph

Name Lists:

British Royalty   European Royalty  Popular Biblical Names   Medieval Favourites   Gorgeously Georgian  Victorian Darlings   Shakespearean Names  Austen Names   Dickensian Names   Bronte Names   Enid Blyton Names  Disney Names

 

If you like Philip you may also like:    Winston, Nicholas, John, Martin, Hugh, Michael, Richard, Anthony, Paul, Jonathan

 

Thanks to Kinyonga for requesting this post.