2000
#9,475
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,147
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.17
Rare Last name
Percival
One who pierces the valley, or one who perceives the veil; derived from Old French.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,634 Americans carry the last name Percival. That puts it at #9,768 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,319 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Percival surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Percival with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 94,319
Census rank
#9,768
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,169 bearers of the surname Percival in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9768th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Percival, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Percival
The surname Percival is of Norman French origin, derived from the Old French personal name "Perceval". This name is believed to have originated from the Breton words "perch", meaning "breach" or "valley", and "aval", meaning "downward".
Percival was a popular name among the Normans, who introduced it to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The earliest recorded instance of the surname Percival can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Percivale".
During the Middle Ages, the Percival surname was concentrated in the counties of Worcestershire and Somerset in England. The name also spread to other parts of the British Isles, including Scotland and Ireland.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Percival surname was Sir Percival de Somery, a Norman knight who lived in the 12th century. He was granted lands in Worcestershire and is mentioned in various records from that time.
Another notable figure was Sir Percival Willoughby, born around 1450, who served as a member of parliament for Nottinghamshire in England during the Wars of the Roses.
In literature, the name Percival is associated with the Arthurian legend of Sir Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table. This character first appeared in the 12th-century French romance "Perceval, the Story of the Grail" by Chrétien de Troyes.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Percival surname was found among English settlers in the American colonies. One notable individual was John Percival, born in 1603 in England, who was one of the founders of Saybrook Colony in Connecticut.
Another significant bearer of the Percival surname was James Gates Percival (1795-1856), an American scholar, poet, and geologist. He was born in Connecticut and is considered one of the most prominent American poets of the early 19th century.
Throughout history, the Percival surname has been subject to various spelling variations, including Percivall, Percivale, and Persivall, reflecting the influence of regional dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Percival
Among Census respondents with the surname Percival, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Percival bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Percival surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.9% · 2,533
- Black or African American8.9% · 282
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 164
- Two or more races4.3% · 135
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Percival
Percival appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,317
+170 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 292 places
2020
#9,768
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,169
-148 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,475 | 3,147 | 1.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,767 | 3,317 | 1.12 | +170 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 292 places |
| 2020 | #9,768 | 3,169 | 1.06 | -148 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 1 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Percival surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,767 | #9,768 | -0.0% |
| Count | 3,317 | 3,169 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.12 | 1.06 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Percival bearers went from 3,317 to 3,169 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,767 to #9,768.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Percival
FAQ
Percival surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Percival?
Name Census estimates that about 3,634 living Americans carry the surname Percival. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,319 residents.
How common is Percival?
Percival ranks #9,768 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,169 people with the surname Percival. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,634), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Percival.
Has Percival become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Percival went from 3,317 recorded bearers to 3,169. That is a decrease of 148 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,767 to #9,768.
What does the Census say about the background of Percival?
Among Census respondents with the surname Percival, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Hispanic (5.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Percival in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (2,533 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Percival appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.9%), Black (8.9%), Hispanic (5.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Percival (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Percival mean?
One who pierces the valley, or one who perceives the veil; derived from Old French. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Percival (1.06 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Percival?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.