# Purnell (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 8,441 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,197 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 36,577 people |
| Change since 2000 | +9.3% (7,725 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Pournelle |

## Etymology

Variant of Parnell.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Purnell 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) | 32% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 62% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 3.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Purnell in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.

## People named Purnell

- Ella Purnell, British actress (born 1996)
- Alexander Purnell, Australian rower
- James Purnell, BBC's Director of Radio and Education, former Labour minister
- William R. Purnell, American officer

## Similar surnames

Parnell, Pernell, Parrinello, Parmelee, Parmley.

## 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.