Phelp Surname Meaning & Coat of Arms

Ask a genealogist about Phelp and the first name they will mention is Phelps. Read literally, Phelp points to “Son of Philip”.

Other spellings include Phelips, Philp and Philps. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists. Without the “s” of Phelps, Phelp is a simpler written form of the same name.

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Phelp, so the heraldry linked to Phelps is a starting point, not an automatic right. Want more than a summary? See the Phelp family name pack.