Phillipson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of patronymic origin, meaning son of Phillip, carried by various people in English-speaking countries
2. A surname derived from the given name Philip, borne by numerous individuals across Britain and elsewhere
3. A hereditary family name formed from the first name Philip, used by many different people over the centuries

Etymology: Phillipson is a patronymic surname: "son of Phillip," built from the given name Phillip plus the Scandinavian-derived suffix "-son," which in English names means "son of." The pattern is the same as Johnson, Anderson or Robertson, where a father's first name became a family name by the addition of "-son." The given name Phillip itself goes back to the Greek "Philippos," from "philos," meaning "loving," and "hippos," meaning "horse," so the name can be read as "lover of horses." Because the Greek name was adopted across Europe, many surnames built on Phillip appear in English-speaking countries, and Phillipson is one of them.