Welcome
Hello, my name is Nancy Kiser and I am the volunteer administrator of this Phillips DNA Project and One-Name Study, along with two co-administrators, Tom Hutchison and Virginia Phillips-Smith. My maternal grandmother was a Phillips and I have been researching Phillips genealogy and history since 1998. In 2006, I became interested in using Y-DNA testing in conjunction with traditional paper genealogical research methods.
What and How to Test
Our project is a Y-DNA surname project which only uses Y-DNA STR (Short Tandem Repeat) marker tests. Testing your Mitochondrial DNA or Autosomal DNA will not work for the purposes of this project. Unfortunately, we cannot use the results of the Family Finder, AncestryDNA or the 23andME tests. Those tests are all Autosomal DNA tests.
Testing your Y-DNA is an easy cheek swab. Here's a link to a video of a man on YouTube showing how easy it is to take a DNA test using a kit from FTDNA.
The Phillips DNA Project Surnames
We are registered with GOONS, the Guild of One Name Studies
Founded in 1979 in Britain, the Guild has members from all over the world and is recognized as the world's leading organization for one-name studies. The Phillips name and these variants have been registered with GOONS: Fillips, Phillips, Philips, Philipps, Phillipson, and McPhillips.
Go to the Phillips One-Name Study for more information.
More Variations of Phillips
Other variations of the name in our project are Filups, MacPhillips, Phelips, Philip, Philipp, Phillip, Philps, Philben and Philippides. The surname Phillips and its many variations are believed to be patronymic surnames, which means they are derived from the male first name Philip or Phillip. The surname means "son of Philip or Phillip." Our DNA project clearly demonstrates a great many unrelated men named Philip or Phillip adopted the surname Philips or Phillips as permanent surnames gradually came into use in Europe from 1000 AD to 1800 AD. Please be warned that some genealogists claim everyone named Phillips is related although DNA clearly indicates this is not the case. Dishonest genealogists assert otherwise in order to convince you to purchase Phillips crests, Phillips Coats of Arms or Phillips family trees they have concocted.
The Phillips DNA Project Background
DNA testing for genealogical purposes has become very popular and fairly affordable since it burst onto the scene in 2000. The main emphasis has been on surname projects, because surnames and yDNA are passed down hand-in-hand over the generations from father to son with only limited changes. Men who share the same last name or some variation of it are recruited to take a yDNA test, and then results are compared to discover which of them are related within a genealogical time frame, which generally means within the past 1000 years. By joining the Phillips DNA Project, Phillips researchers interested in family history with matching yDNA can compare notes and make connections, perhaps enabling them to trace back several generations further than they could without yDNA comparisons. Equally important, yDNA can tell you if your Phillips line does not match another Phillips line, which will help you avoid making false connections and pursuing wild goose chases. Also, DNA analysis can reveal the general region where the ancient ancestors of the participant originated; i.e., Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Western Europe, the Mediterranean, the British Isles, etc. DNA analysis will also indicate whether your direct paternal line is Native American, African, Oriental or Caucasian. Click on The Benefits of yDNA Testing to read more about how yDNA testing works for genealogical use.
How Do I Participate?
It's easy to participate following these steps
1. Recruit a male Phillips member of your Phillips family to submit his cheek cells for a DNA test. This is a painless procedure that only involves swabbing the inside of your cheek in the privacy of your own home. Phillips women cannot donate their DNA because women do not have a Y chromosome. Click on the Join tab above to read about costs and how to place an order for a test kit. Click here if you would like to make a contribution to the project's General Fund.
2. Submit your known Phillips family tree to the Administrators of this project to be posted on our yLineages Pages. You can submit your Phillips family tree without finding a male Phillips family member who will take the DNA test, although we highly recommend Y-DNA testing to confirm your Phillips family tree. Click on the yLineages tab above to view Phillips pedigrees of our current members.
3. Register with this website to receive announcements and news reports. Click here to learn how to register. Spam filters in mail servers these days often block or trash legitimate emails that arrive via bulk email, such as our newsletter announcement. It is important to READ THIS before you register.
4. DNA donors will receive DNA results indicating whether or not they match one of our existing Phillips family groups or another unmatched member in the project. Even if the donor does not initially match anyone in the project, he will receive notification of matches as other members join our project.
