# Percy (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/percy/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname from Old French.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | French |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,226 |
| US rank (2010) | 7,837 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 73,059 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.3% (4,015 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɜɹsi/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Proper noun senses 1 (surname) and 3 (place names) are derived from Norman Percy (“a baronial surname”), from Percy-en-Auge (“a place in Pays d’Auge, Normandy, France”, literally “Percy in Auge”), from Old French Perci, from Late Latin Persiacum, from Latin Persius (“a Gallo-Roman nomen gentile”), from Etruscan 𐌐𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (persu); further etymology uncertain, possibly from 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu, “mask”). Proper noun sense 2 (given name) is either from the above, or is a clipping of Perc(ival) + -y (suffix forming familiar names). The common noun is derived from the proper noun. Sense 2 (“penis”) is probably from the fact that Percy and penis begin with the same letter.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Percy in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 67% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 22% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 5.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Percy in the United States, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Australia and the Kingdom of England.

## People named Percy

- Walker Percy, American philosophical novelist
- Charles H. Percy, American businessman and U.S. senator (1919–2011)
- Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, British Army general (1742-1817)
- LeRoy Percy, American politician
- Esme Percy, British actor (1887-1957)
- Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, British duchess; Lady of the Bedchamber (1716-1776)
- Anthony Percy, Australian Roman Catholic prelate
- George Percy, 9e duc de Northumberland, British duke (1912–1940)
- Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle, alleged intrigant at the royal court of Charles I of England (lived 1599-1660)

## Similar surnames

Pierce, Pearce, Piercy, Peirce, Pearcy, Perz, Perkey, Perich, Perez, Price, Park, Powers.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.