2000
#1,517
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,696
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.04
Uncommon Last name
Purcell
An Irish occupational surname referring to the keeper of a piglet or young pig.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,698 Americans carry the last name Purcell. That puts it at #1,620 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,878 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Purcell 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 Purcell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
25K
1 in 13,878
Census rank
#1,620
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
22K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,538 bearers of the surname Purcell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1620th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Purcell, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Purcell
The surname Purcell has its origins in Norman France and is derived from the Old French words "porcelle" or "pourcelet", meaning a young pig or piglet. When the Normans invaded England in 1066, they brought their surnames with them, and Purcell became an English surname.
The name Purcell was first found in counties like Shropshire and Staffordshire, where some of the earliest recorded instances of the name appear in the 13th and 14th centuries. One of the earliest references to the name is in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled "Purcel".
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the name appears as "Porcellus", referring to someone who tended pigs or came from a place associated with pigs. This suggests that the name may have originated as an occupational surname or a topographic name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Purcell was Hugh Purcell, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire in 1205. Another early bearer of the name was Robert Purcell, who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1279.
The name Purcell has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most famous was Henry Purcell (1659-1695), an English composer who is considered one of the greatest Baroque composers of his time.
Another notable Purcell was John Purcell (1599-1665), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works. There was also John Purcell (1782-1853), an Irish politician and judge who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
Edward Purcell (1689-1756) was an English actor and playwright who wrote several popular plays in the early 18th century. Andrew Pickens Purcell (1819-1894) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a judge and member of the South Carolina House of Representatives.
The surname Purcell has undergone various spellings over the centuries, including Purcel, Pursell, Pursill, and Puckle. It has also been associated with several place names, such as Pursill Green in Staffordshire and Pursall Green in Cheshire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Purcell
Among Census respondents with the surname Purcell, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Purcell 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 Purcell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.9% · 18,079
- Black or African American6.5% · 1,407
- Two or more races4.0% · 865
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 762
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 349
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 76
Timeline
Historical Census data for Purcell
Purcell 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
#1,599
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,383
+687 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 7.59
Rank movement Down 82 places
2020
#1,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,538
-845 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 7.21
Rank movement Down 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,517 | 21,696 | 8.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,599 | 22,383 | 7.59 | +687 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 82 places |
| 2020 | #1,620 | 21,538 | 7.21 | -845 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 21 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 Purcell 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 | #1,599 | #1,620 | -1.3% |
| Count | 22,383 | 21,538 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 7.59 | 7.21 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Purcell bearers went from 22,383 to 21,538 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,599 to #1,620.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Purcell
FAQ
Purcell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Purcell?
Name Census estimates that about 24,698 living Americans carry the surname Purcell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,878 residents.
How common is Purcell?
Purcell ranks #1,620 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,538 people with the surname Purcell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,698), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Purcell.
Has Purcell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Purcell went from 22,383 recorded bearers to 21,538. That is a decrease of 845 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,599 to #1,620.
What does the Census say about the background of Purcell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Purcell, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Purcell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.9% (18,079 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Purcell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.9%), Black (6.5%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Purcell (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 Purcell mean?
An Irish occupational surname referring to the keeper of a piglet or young pig. 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 Purcell (7.21 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 people have the last name Purcell?
Want to know how many people are called Purcell? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.