How common is the surname Pearl?

7,570 people in the United States had the surname Pearl in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 40,785 Americans. It ranked 4,687th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Pearl?

Daniel Pearl, American journalist (1963–2002), followed by Raymond Pearl.

Where is the surname Pearl most common?

Wikidata records people named Pearl in the United States.

Is the surname Pearl getting more or less common?

More common. 7,435 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,570 in 2010, up 1.8%.

Is Pearl also a first name?

Yes. Pearl is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Pearl

A surname, carried by 7,570 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex P640 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Pearl is more common than 97.1% of them.

Origin

From pearl. * (river in China): From Chinese 珠江 (Zhūjiāng, Zyu1 Gong1, “Pearl River”); calque of Chinese 珠 (zhū, zyu1, “pearl”). * (haven in Hawaii): From Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”); calque of Hawaiian momi (“pearl”).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 7,570 people named Pearl in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 40,785 Americans. That is up 1.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 7,435.

#4,687

rank among US surnames

7,570

people in 2010

2.6

per 100,000 Americans

+1.8%

change since 2000 (was #4,409)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,684	Stidham	7,579	40,737
#4,685	Saxon	7,576	40,753
#4,686	Bethel	7,573	40,769
#4,687	Pearl	7,570	40,785

Who is named Pearl

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

84% of people named Pearl identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.9% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 2.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Pearls

7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Daniel Pearl
American journalist (1963–2002)
Raymond Pearl
American biogerontologist (1879-1940)
Matthew Pearl
American writer, born 1975
Barry Pearl
American actor, born 1950
Bill Pearl
American bodybuilder, 1930–2022
Jack Pearl
American actor (1894-1982)
Daniel Pearl
American cinematographer, born 1951

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Pearl

Pearl has the Soundex code P640, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P640.

Questions

Where does the surname Pearl come from?: From pearl. * (river in China): From Chinese 珠江 (Zhūjiāng, Zyu1 Gong1, “Pearl River”); calque of Chinese 珠 (zhū, zyu1, “pearl”). * (haven in Hawaii): From Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”); calque of Hawaiian momi (“pearl”).
How common is the surname Pearl?: 7,570 people in the United States had the surname Pearl in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 40,785 Americans. It ranked 4,687th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Pearl?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Pearl identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.9% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Pearl?: Daniel Pearl, American journalist (1963–2002), followed by Raymond Pearl.
Where is the surname Pearl most common?: Wikidata records people named Pearl in the United States.
Is the surname Pearl getting more or less common?: More common. 7,435 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,570 in 2010, up 1.8%.
Is Pearl also a first name?: Yes. Pearl is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.