Phippen Family History

English and Irish (of Norman origin): shortened form of the Anglo-Norman surname Fitzpain ‘son of Pain’ (see Payne). English: variant of Phipp with the West Midlands Middle English genitive singular -en instead of the more usual -s see Phipps.

Alternatively perhaps from the unattested Middle English personal names Phippon or Phippin which could be Old French pet forms of Philip though they are not on record.

Irish: perhaps an altered form of Thigpen by association or confusion with the name in (1).

The 17th-century Thigpen and Phippen families in NC were apparently related.