The McPhillips surname may be of Scottish or Irish origin, the surname is found predominantly in Ireland, in Cavan, Fermanagh and Monaghan counties. It is usually derived from the common surname Phillips.

Etymology and early Irish origins

The Christian name Philip was brought to Britain and Ireland by the Normans in the 12th century and was soon gaelicised to Pilib. The surname is of patronymic form and derives from the Gaelic Mac Pilib / Mac Philib, meaning "son of Philip",

Historian Peadar Livingstone claims it is possible that some Maguire's of Fermanagh may have anglicised to McPhillips,[1] but generally the surname owes its origins to Pilib mac Séamus Mac Mathghamhna (Philip MacJames MacMahon).[2][3][4]

The McPhillips surname was found to be the 31st most numerous in County Monaghan in 1970. It is almost exclusive in Dartry where it is the 7th most common surname.[5] In Connacht, Phillips is an Anglicisation of McPhilbin which is one of the Hibernicised branches of the Burke clan. The surname was used interchangeably with Mac Philib & McPhillips, but most later dropped the Mc/Mac prefix.[6][7][8]

Early Scottish origins

In Scotland, different variations of the surname can be found in Inverness-shire and Argyllshire. The most common version is McKillop, which can be represented in Scottish Gaelic as MacFhilib and MacPhilip. [9][8][10] The McPhillips surname is largely found in the Scottish Lowlands around Lanarkshire and West Lothian, where the surname is the 37th most common surname; the 1841 Scotland Census records indicated that most were of Irish origin at that time.[11]

People named McPhillips

Politics

Sports

Culture

Film/Television

Music

Other

See also

Place names

References

  1. ↑ Peadar Livingstone, The Fermanagh Story, Enniskillen: Clogher Historical Society (1969 ), p. 441.
  2. ↑ McMahon Genealogy page 7
  3. ↑ Peadar Livingstone, The Monaghan Story, Enniskillen: Clogher Historical Society (1980), ISBN 0-9501047-4-4, pp. 69, 605
  4. ↑ Rev. Pádraig Ó Gallachair, "jstor A Dictionary of the Catholic Clergy of the Diocese of Clogher (1535–1835) (continued)", Clogher Record, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1957), p. 176
  5. ↑ Peadar Livingstone, The Monaghan Story, Enniskillen: Clogher Historical Society (1980), ISBN 0-9501047-4-4, pp. 576–77
  6. ↑ , irishtimes.com (search by typing "McPhillips"
  7. ↑ Edward MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland, Irish Academic Press (December 1989), ISBN 978-0-7165-2366-6, p. 245.
  8. 1 2 Robert Bell, Book of Ulster Surnames, The Blackstaff Press (1988), ISBN 0-85640-602-3, p. 214
  9. ↑ David Dorward, Scottish Surnames, Mercat Press (2002, new edition), ISBN 978-1-84183-045-2
  10. ↑ IrishAbroad: McPhillips surname
  11. ↑ ancestry.com 15 McPhillips were listed in the 1841 Scotland Census records; 11 born in Ireland; ancestry.com
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.