How common is the surname Percy?

4,226 people in the United States had the surname Percy in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 73,059 Americans. It ranked 7,837th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Percy?

Walker Percy, American philosophical novelist, followed by Charles H. Percy.

Where is the surname Percy most common?

Wikidata records people named Percy in the United States, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Percy?

Percy is /ˈpɜɹsi/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Percy getting more or less common?

More common. 4,015 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,226 in 2010, up 5.3%.

Is Percy also a first name?

Yes. Percy 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 Percy

A French surname, carried by 4,226 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈpɜɹsi/ 2 syllables Soundex P620 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). Percy is more common than 95.2% of them.

Origin

French origin

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.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 4,226 people named Percy in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 73,059 Americans. That is up 5.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 4,015.

#7,837

rank among US surnames

4,226

people in 2010

1.4

per 100,000 Americans

+5.3%

change since 2000 (was #7,631)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#7,830	Poynter	4,229	73,007
#7,831	Prevost	4,228	73,024
#7,835	Gambill	4,227	73,041
#7,837	Percy	4,226	73,059
#7,838	Dutra	4,225	73,076
#7,841	Sperling	4,224	73,093

Who is named Percy

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

67% of people named Percy identified as white (not Hispanic), 22% as Black (not Hispanic) and 5.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Percys

9 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Walker Percy
American philosophical novelist, 1916–1990
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, 1860–1929
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, born 1963
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)

Notable Percys come mostly from the United States (3), the Kingdom of Great Britain (2) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Percy

Percy has the Soundex code P620, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P620.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Percy come from?: 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”),…
How common is the surname Percy?: 4,226 people in the United States had the surname Percy in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 73,059 Americans. It ranked 7,837th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Percy?: In the 2010 Census, 67% of people named Percy identified as white (not Hispanic), and 22% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Percy?: Walker Percy, American philosophical novelist, followed by Charles H. Percy.
Where is the surname Percy most common?: Wikidata records people named Percy in the United States, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Percy?: Percy is /ˈpɜɹsi/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Percy getting more or less common?: More common. 4,015 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,226 in 2010, up 5.3%.
Is Percy also a first name?: Yes. Percy 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.