# Philemon (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/philemon/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 562 |
| US rank (2010) | 39,164 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 549,369 people |
| Change since 2000 | +21% (464 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /fɪˈliːmən/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Ancient Greek Φιλήμων (Philḗmōn), from φιλήμων (philḗmōn, “kindly, affectionate”), from φιλέω (philéō, “to love”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Philemon in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 46% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 44% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 5.2% |
| Two or more races | 0.9% |

## Similar surnames

Plemmons, Plemons, Palomino, Pohlman, Plowman, Pullman, Plamondon.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.