# Percival (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/percival/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Welsh |
| Meaning | “pierce”, “valley”, “spear”, “lance”, “spit”, “hard metal”, “steel” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɜː(ɹ)sɪvəl/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Pursifull |
| US babies named this | 1,466 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,466 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 373, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old French Perceval, name of a knight in a twelfth century Arthurian romance by the French poet Chrétien de Troyes. Shaped like Old French percier (“pierce”) + val (“valley”), but probably representing some Gaulish or Old Welsh name, possibly related to Welsh Peredur, from ber (“spear, lance”) (from Middle Welsh ber, from Proto-Brythonic *ber, from Proto-Celtic *beru (“spit”)) + dur (“hard metal, steel”) (see Latin durus). Cognate with German Parzival and Parsifal.

## What it means

Percival is grouped under sword.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13 | 6,491 |
| 2012 | 9 | 8,694 |
| 2013 | 8 | 9,440 |
| 2014 | 16 | 5,657 |
| 2015 | 16 | 5,676 |
| 2016 | 12 | 7,033 |
| 2017 | 19 | 5,063 |
| 2018 | 19 | 5,056 |
| 2019 | 38 | 3,136 |
| 2020 | 46 | 2,720 |
| 2021 | 46 | 2,765 |
| 2022 | 51 | 2,640 |
| 2023 | 63 | 2,267 |
| 2024 | 93 | 1,772 |
| 2025 | 113 | 1,536 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 8 | 2,390 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,805 |
| 2013 | 8 | 2,403 |
| 2014 | 14 | 1,630 |
| 2015 | 13 | 1,786 |
| 2016 | 19 | 1,363 |
| 2017 | 19 | 1,339 |
| 2018 | 29 | 985 |
| 2019 | 22 | 1,189 |
| 2020 | 25 | 1,085 |
| 2021 | 27 | 1,055 |
| 2022 | 35 | 878 |
| 2023 | 38 | 843 |
| 2024 | 40 | 814 |
| 2025 | 47 | 735 |

## People named Percival

- Percival Lowell, American astronomer (1855-1916)
- Percival Everett, American writer (born 1956)
- Percival Davson, British fencer and tennis player (1877-1959)
- Percival Proctor Baxter, American politician (1876–1969)
- Percival Molson, Canadian ice hockey player (1880-1917)
- Percival W. Clement, American politician (1846–1927)
- Percival Parr, English footballer (1859-1912)
- Neil Young, Canadian singer, songwriter and filmmaker (born 1945)
- Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, British Army general and Viceroy of India
- Rainn Wilson, American actor, comedian, producer, and writer
- Cecil Taylor, American jazz pianist and poet (1929–2018)
- Percy Peter, British swimmer, Olympic bronze medallist (1902–1986)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.