What was the maiden name of Richard Feynman's mother?

Richard Feynman’s mother’s maiden name was Phillips. His mother was Lucille Phillips, who later became Lucille Feynman after marrying Melville Arthur Feynman.

Lucille was born in the United States to a Jewish family with Polish immigrant roots. She trained as a primary-school teacher but married Melville in 1917 before beginning a professional teaching career. The couple’s first child, Richard, was born in 1918 in New York City, and they later had a daughter, Joan, who became a noted astrophysicist.

Phillips is sometimes overlooked because Richard’s own full name was Richard Phillips Feynman. That middle name was not his mother’s married surname, but it echoes the family name and can help explain the connection. Lucille strongly influenced Feynman’s humor and personality, while his father encouraged his scientific curiosity. The surname should not be confused with Feynman’s father’s family name or with the names of Richard’s wives.