Pervis
A masculine given name of unknown origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 502 living Americans carry the first name Pervis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pervis today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pervis births was 1965 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pervis. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
502
~ 1 in 682,778 Americans
Peak year
1965
21 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2002 SSA rank
#12,007
Tracked since 1892
Census
Pervis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 463 people with the first name Pervis, which placed it at #21,790 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,790
National first-name rank
People counted
463
463 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pervis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pervis is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Pervis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Pervis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.9% · 379
- White13.2% · 61
- Two or more races2.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Popularity
Pervis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pervis from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 135 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pervis by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Pervis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pervis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Louisiana, Mississippi, Illinois recorded the most babies named Pervis, while South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pervis
The given name Pervis is an English variation of the French name Parvus, which was derived from the Latin word "parvus" meaning "small" or "little." This name gained popularity during the Middle Ages in parts of Europe, particularly in France and England.
The earliest recorded use of the name Pervis can be traced back to the 12th century in England. Historical records from this period show the name being used by members of the nobility and clergy. One notable figure was Sir Pervis de Montfort, a knight who fought alongside King Richard I during the Third Crusade in the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, the name Pervis appeared in several literary works, including the medieval romance "Le Roman de la Rose" by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. This literary reference suggests that the name was well-established in French culture during this time.
As the name spread across Europe, variations of the spelling emerged, including Pervis, Parvus, and Parvis. In the 15th century, a notable figure named Pervis Loughborough was a prominent scholar and philosopher at the University of Oxford in England.
During the Renaissance period, the name Pervis gained further recognition. In the 16th century, Pervis Woodhouse was an English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in London, including parts of the Old Royal Palace.
In the 17th century, a famous figure named Pervis Everard was a renowned English playwright and poet who contributed to the flourishing literary scene during the reign of King Charles II.
Throughout history, the name Pervis has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, and military leaders. While not as widely used today, the name continues to carry a rich historical legacy rooted in its medieval European origins.
People
Pervis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pervis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pervis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pervis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 502 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pervis going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 682,778 US residents.
Is Pervis a common name?
We classify Pervis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 878 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pervis most popular?
The single biggest year for Pervis was 1965, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pervis is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pervis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 463 people with the name Pervis, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,790 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Pervis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Pervis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pervis leans strongly male. 453 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 8 female bearers (1.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Pervis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pervis is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Pervis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Pervis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (379 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Pervis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pervis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pervis in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Pervis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pervis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Pervis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Pervis?
See how many people share the name Pervis on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.