Daily Ancestorfilius populi
Filius populi, literally son of the people, is a Latin phrase for an illegitimate child; filia populi is the daughter.
Filius populi means son of the people. The BYU list of common phrases places it with filius illegitimus and filius spurius as terms for an illegitimate child.
The phrase hides the father, so follow the mother's line when the entry names her. Look in the margin and in later records for a legitimation if the parents married.
As seen in a recordLatin baptism register, Galicia, 1800s
Anna, filia populi, mater Catharina Mrozinski
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "filius populi." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/filius-populi. Last checked 2026-10-12.