Filips

Filips is also very much a Dutch name. It dates back to the medieval period, where it was a variant of Philips, at the time a common Dutch form of the ancient Greek name Φίλιππος (Philippos):

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• https://www.behindthename.com/name/philips/submitted (in English)

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Filips has remained in use over the centuries, though over time more so in Belgium (specifically Flanders) than in the Netherlands. Today, the name is old-fashioned and rare in both countries. It began to go out of fashion during the 18th century, when it was increasingly abandoned in favour of Philip and to a lesser extent Filip. By the time of the interbellum of the 20th century, the name had already become rare. As a result, Filips is rare even among the elderly that are alive today.

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For a general impression of the prevalence of Filips vs. Filip and Philip in modern times, please see below:

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Filips
• Belgium (2009): http://www.names.be/jongensnamen.html?met=Filips&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
• Netherlands (2017): https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Filips (in Dutch)

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Filip
• Belgium (2009): http://www.names.be/jongensnamen.html?met=Filip&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
• Netherlands (2017): https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Filip (in Dutch)

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Philip
• Belgium (2009): http://www.names.be/jongensnamen.html?met=Philip&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
• Netherlands (2017): https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Philip (in Dutch)

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The last high-profile bearer of the name is the current Belgian king Philippe (b. 1960). The official name on his birth certificate is Philippe, as he and his family are francophone. But when he was born, his name was officially translated to Filips for the Dutch-speaking population of Belgium. He remained known to them as Filips until the 1980s, when it was changed to Filip in order to avoid association with the 16th-century king Felipe II of Spain (who is known in Dutch as Filips II van Spanje):

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• https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filip_van_België#Naam (in Dutch)
• https://www.vernoeming.nl/prins-filip-wordt-koning-philippe/ (in Dutch)

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Other examples of bearers include:

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• Filips Corsselaar (1471-1523): https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filips_Corsselaar (in Dutch)
• Filips Dhondt (b. 1962): https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filips_Dhondt (in Dutch)
• Filips Wielant (c. 1441-1520): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filips_Wielant (in English)
• Filips Willem van Oranje (1554-1618): https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filips_Willem_van_Oranje (in Dutch; also see the English version)
• Filips van Artevelde (1340-1382): https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filips_van_Artevelde (in Dutch; also see the English version)
• Filips van Leiden (c. 1325-1382): https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filips_van_Leiden (in Dutch; also see the English version)

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Last but not least, the Dutch pronunciation of Filips is:

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/'fi.lɪps/

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You can hear it for yourself here:

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• https://nl.wiktionary.org/wiki/Filips (in Dutch)
• https://nl.forvo.com/search/Filips/nl/ (in Dutch)