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Percival

“pierce” + “valley” + “hard metal, steel”

Language context for this entry: English

masculineLatin script

/ˈpɜː(ɹ)sɪvəl/ · English

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Origin
Middle Welsh
1 language context
English
Follow the evidence
4 cited sources Source-reported

01 / Meaning & origin

About Percival

Percival is a masculine given name documented in English. English Wiktionary traces it to Middle Welsh ber via Old French, Gaulish, Old Welsh and 1 other language, from the components “pierce” + “valley” + “hard metal, steel”.

02 / Across borders

Where Percival is used

Explore published naming statistics and documented language connections around the world.

The name atlas

Across borders

10

countries in our sources

Select a country to follow Percival’s connections around the world.

4 countries with published statistics. Language records show cultural connections; they do not measure how common a name is.

Selected country

United States

Statistics + language records

United States, 2025: 113 boys (rank 1529). Documented as a given name in English.

Explore United States

4 of 10 countries

03 / By the numbers

Popularity over time

Follow the spelling through the years, one published dataset at a time.

United States

1880–2025 Spelling: Percival

Recorded category boys

Metric
Latest · 2025
113
applications
Rank #1,529
Peak year
2025
113 applications

Hover to explore a year. Use arrow keys when a chart point has focus.

Source: US Social Security Administration; redistributed by nkrishnaswami · SSA national baby names, 1880–2025 (CC0 redistribution)

Integer application counts retained without rounding.

Per million is unavailable: this source has no matching published total.

Show the data table
Percival in United States, boys: applications and rank by year
YearApplicationsRankStatus
18807745observed
18817706observed
18826837observed
18835892observed
18846848observed
18857765observed
18868694observed
1887no valueno valuenot covered
188851,031observed
18896878observed
18905994observed
18916841observed
18929748observed
18937836observed
18948787observed
1895no valueno valuenot covered
1896no valueno valuenot covered
18978787observed
1898no valueno valuenot covered
1899no valueno valuenot covered
190071,050observed
19017858observed
19028862observed
190351,130observed
190451,205observed
190571,002observed
1906no valueno valuenot covered
1907no valueno valuenot covered
190861,217observed
1909no valueno valuenot covered
1910no valueno valuenot covered
1911no valueno valuenot covered
1912161,174observed
1913111,676observed
1914111,975observed
1915112,310observed
1916171,771observed
1917132,188observed
1918181,827observed
1919102,665observed
1920122,459observed
1921221,648observed
1922251,503observed
192392,950observed
1924102,822observed
1925102,755observed
1926191,787observed
192773,451observed
1928142,162observed
192992,766observed
193092,781observed
193192,651observed
193282,849observed
193382,738observed
193472,973observed
193563,252observed
1936no valueno valuenot covered
193782,680observed
1938no valueno valuenot covered
1939no valueno valuenot covered
1940no valueno valuenot covered
194153,505observed
194263,212observed
194363,231observed
194463,109observed
1945no valueno valuenot covered
194682,690observed
194773,096observed
1948no valueno valuenot covered
194963,298observed
195073,021observed
195153,714observed
195282,875observed
195353,798observed
195463,452observed
195582,964observed
195673,216observed
1957122,375observed
195863,559observed
1959102,663observed
196063,665observed
196183,097observed
196273,305observed
196363,646observed
1964132,310observed
1965142,178observed
196673,249observed
1967no valueno valuenot covered
196873,365observed
196983,314observed
197073,836observed
1971152,464observed
197293,344observed
1973103,223observed
197464,634observed
197583,941observed
1976103,471observed
1977113,386observed
197855,772observed
197965,355observed
198065,525observed
198184,509observed
198256,385observed
1983162,787observed
198484,552observed
198565,785observed
198675,332observed
198775,459observed
198866,426observed
198966,941observed
199067,178observed
199167,271observed
199267,422observed
199395,771observed
199467,770observed
199558,868observed
199667,971observed
199768,110observed
199859,631observed
199977,874observed
200069,112observed
200169,243observed
2002no valueno valuenot covered
2003no valueno valuenot covered
2004511,356observed
2005no valueno valuenot covered
2006610,662observed
200788,915observed
2008no valueno valuenot covered
2009512,491observed
2010610,766observed
2011136,256observed
201298,158observed
201388,789observed
2014165,485observed
2015165,507observed
2016126,726observed
2017194,935observed
2018194,918observed
2019383,103observed
2020462,689observed
2021462,732observed
2022512,616observed
2023632,244observed
2024931,767observed
20251131,529observed
About this dataset and its counting rules

Statistics count the spelling “Percival” as recorded by the publisher. When a spelling has several independent origins, the counts are not split between them. Counts measure applications. Gaps are years without a published value, not zeros.

Rates per million are unavailable for this series because no compatible denominator has been imported.

Universe
US national Social Security card applications by name, sex and birth year; not a complete birth registry, especially before 1937.
Rounding
Integer application counts retained without rounding.
Suppression
Only names with at least 5 occurrences in a year and sex are included. Missing observations are not zeros.
Ranking
computed by NameStoria from published counts; ties share a rank, next rank skips. The mirror's derived rank column is not used.

Retrieved 2026-10-15 · CC0-1.0

Read our methodology

04 / Through time

History

Historical scholarship

Passages quoted verbatim from public-domain reference works. They reflect the scholarship of their time, not current consensus, and may use obsolete spellings.

Notable bearers

People recorded with this given name in Wikidata. Their names may use a different spelling, or include it as a middle or baptismal name.

A little story to keep

A name worth keeping.

Take the story of Percival with you. Create a personal name passport with its meaning, roots and connections.

06 / Behind the facts

Sources for this page

Review status: Source-reported — no editorial review recorded yet. Last data change 2026-10-15.

Name origins & languageDictionaries, name records and related forms3
Historical referencesOriginal texts and their publication details1
Statistics and surveysPublishers, dataset licences and retrieval dates6

  • SSA national baby names, 1880–2025 (CC0 redistribution)

    US Social Security Administration; redistributed by nkrishnaswami · CC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

  • Ontario first baby names, 1913–2023 (verified redistribution)

    Government of Ontario; redistributed by helloharun · OGL-ON-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

  • Ontario top baby names, historical archive 1917–2013

    Government of Ontario (Office of the Registrar General) · OGL-ON-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

  • South Australia — Popular Baby Names, per-year lists including names given once, 1944-2017

    Attorney-General's Department, South Australia (via data.sa.gov.au) · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

  • Baby names in England and Wales: 2025 (boys and girls workbooks, Table 6: all published names)

    Office for National Statistics (ONS) · OGL-UK-3.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14

  • NISRA — First Forenames Given to Babies Registered in Northern Ireland, 1997-2025 (full list)

    Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) · OGL-UK-3.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

Wiktionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata: CC0. Commons recordings retain their individual file licences. Complete attribution is available in each group above and alongside each chart.