He was born Philip Ellis, the son of John Ellis, Rector of Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, a descendant of the Ellis family of Kiddall Hall, Yorkshire, and Susannah Welbore.
Philip Ellis was born to John Ellis, who held the position of Rector at Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, tracing his ancestry back to the Ellis family from Kiddall Hall in Yorkshire and Susannah Welbore.