How common is the surname Perry?

221,741 people in the United States had the surname Perry in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,392 Americans. It ranked 103rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Perry?

Katy Perry, American singer, followed by Matthew Perry.

Where is the surname Perry most common?

Wikidata records people named Perry in the United States, Australia and Canada and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Perry?

Perry is /ˈpɛɹi/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Perry getting more or less common?

More common. 212,644 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 221,741 in 2010, up 4.3%.

Is Perry also a first name?

Yes. Perry 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 Perry

A place surname, carried by 221,741 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈpɛɹi/ 2 syllables Soundex P600 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). Perry is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

A topographic surname from Old English derived from the Old English pyrige (“a pear tree”).

Perry is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 221,741 people named Perry in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,392 Americans. That is up 4.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 212,644.

#103

rank among US surnames

221,741

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.3%

change since 2000 (was #97)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#94	Sanders	230,374	1,340
#95	Patel	229,973	1,343
#96	Myers	229,895	1,343
#97	Long	229,374	1,346
#98	Ross	229,368	1,346
#99	Foster	227,764	1,356
#100	Jimenez	227,118	1,359

Who is named Perry

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

68% of people named Perry identified as white (not Hispanic), 25% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 68%
Black (not Hispanic) 25%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 2.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Perrys

63 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Katy Perry
American singer, born 1984
Matthew Perry
American-Canadian actor (1969–2023)
Luke Perry
American actor (1966–2019)
Tyler Perry
American actor and filmmaker (born 1969)
Rick Perry
American politician, born 1950
Matthew C. Perry
American naval officer (1794–1858)
Bradley Steven Perry
American actor (born 1998)
William Perry
American mathematician and businessman, former Secretary of Defense, born 1927
Linda Perry
American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer, born 1965
Ellyse Perry
Born 1990, Australian sportswoman
Steve Perry
American singer, born 1949
Jeff Perry
American actor, born 1955

Notable Perrys come mostly from the United States (57), Australia (3) and Canada (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Perry

Perry has the Soundex code P600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P600.

Questions

How common is the surname Perry?: 221,741 people in the United States had the surname Perry in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,392 Americans. It ranked 103rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Perry?: In the 2010 Census, 68% of people named Perry identified as white (not Hispanic), and 25% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Perry?: Katy Perry, American singer, followed by Matthew Perry.
Where is the surname Perry most common?: Wikidata records people named Perry in the United States, Australia and Canada and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Perry?: Perry is /ˈpɛɹi/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Perry?: Perry is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Perry getting more or less common?: More common. 212,644 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 221,741 in 2010, up 4.3%.
Is Perry also a first name?: Yes. Perry 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.