NameCensus.

UK surname

Percival

One who pierces the valley, or one who perceives the veil; derived from Old French.

In the 1881 census there were 4,675 people recorded with the Percival surname, ranking it #953 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 6,040, ranked #1,115, down from #953 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Manchester and Sheffield. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include County Durham, East Northamptonshire and Richmondshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Percival is 6,792 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 29.2%.

1881 census count

4,675

Ranked #953

Modern count

6,040

2016, ranked #1,115

Peak year

1911

6,792 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Percival had 4,675 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #953 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 6,040 in 2016, ranked #1,115.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 6,792 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Percival surname distribution map

The map shows where the Percival surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Percival surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Percival over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 2,592 #1,138
1861 historical 2,710 #1,084
1881 historical 4,675 #953
1891 historical 5,010 #934
1901 historical 6,205 #894
1911 historical 6,792 #762
1997 modern 6,231 #1,054
1998 modern 6,423 #1,064
1999 modern 6,449 #1,065
2000 modern 6,377 #1,072
2001 modern 6,289 #1,061
2002 modern 6,437 #1,064
2003 modern 6,214 #1,076
2004 modern 6,202 #1,076
2005 modern 6,118 #1,075
2006 modern 6,077 #1,074
2007 modern 6,085 #1,081
2008 modern 6,078 #1,090
2009 modern 6,221 #1,092
2010 modern 6,323 #1,100
2011 modern 6,259 #1,093
2012 modern 6,101 #1,100
2013 modern 6,199 #1,103
2014 modern 6,213 #1,103
2015 modern 6,106 #1,112
2016 modern 6,040 #1,115

Geography

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Where Percivals are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Manchester and Sheffield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to County Durham, East Northamptonshire, Richmondshire, Newcastle upon Tyne and Wolverhampton. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 County Durham 042 County Durham
2 East Northamptonshire 008 East Northamptonshire
3 Richmondshire 005 Richmondshire
4 Newcastle upon Tyne 004 Newcastle upon Tyne
5 Wolverhampton 033 Wolverhampton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Percival

These lists show first names that appear often with the Percival surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Percival

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Percival, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Percival surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Percival household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Percival is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Percival is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percival falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Percival is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Percival, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Percival

The surname Percival is of Norman French origin, derived from the Old French personal name "Perceval". This name is believed to have originated from the Breton words "perch", meaning "breach" or "valley", and "aval", meaning "downward".

Percival was a popular name among the Normans, who introduced it to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The earliest recorded instance of the surname Percival can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Percivale".

During the Middle Ages, the Percival surname was concentrated in the counties of Worcestershire and Somerset in England. The name also spread to other parts of the British Isles, including Scotland and Ireland.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Percival surname was Sir Percival de Somery, a Norman knight who lived in the 12th century. He was granted lands in Worcestershire and is mentioned in various records from that time.

Another notable figure was Sir Percival Willoughby, born around 1450, who served as a member of parliament for Nottinghamshire in England during the Wars of the Roses.

In literature, the name Percival is associated with the Arthurian legend of Sir Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table. This character first appeared in the 12th-century French romance "Perceval, the Story of the Grail" by Chrétien de Troyes.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Percival surname was found among English settlers in the American colonies. One notable individual was John Percival, born in 1603 in England, who was one of the founders of Saybrook Colony in Connecticut.

Another significant bearer of the Percival surname was James Gates Percival (1795-1856), an American scholar, poet, and geologist. He was born in Connecticut and is considered one of the most prominent American poets of the early 19th century.

Throughout history, the Percival surname has been subject to various spelling variations, including Percivall, Percivale, and Persivall, reflecting the influence of regional dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Percival families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Percival surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 1,064 Percivals recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.96x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 1,064 1.96x
Cheshire 651 6.44x
Middlesex 354 0.77x
Surrey 332 1.49x
Yorkshire 290 0.64x
Northamptonshire 269 6.25x
Kent 192 1.23x
Staffordshire 172 1.11x
Cumberland 164 4.16x
Leicestershire 144 2.84x
Essex 140 1.55x
Lincolnshire 136 1.86x
Derbyshire 130 1.81x
Durham 95 0.70x
Warwickshire 94 0.81x
Northumberland 69 1.01x
Buckinghamshire 47 1.70x
Nottinghamshire 34 0.55x
Gloucestershire 29 0.32x
Westmorland 27 2.68x
Sussex 24 0.31x
Denbighshire 16 0.93x
Hampshire 14 0.15x
Lanarkshire 14 0.09x
Renfrewshire 14 0.39x
Bedfordshire 13 0.55x
Channel Islands 12 0.88x
Rutland 12 3.57x
Hertfordshire 11 0.35x
Somerset 11 0.15x
Stirlingshire 11 0.65x
Worcestershire 11 0.18x
Flintshire 8 0.65x
Shropshire 8 0.20x
Cornwall 7 0.14x
Devon 7 0.07x
Midlothian 6 0.10x
Pembrokeshire 6 0.41x
Suffolk 6 0.11x
Berkshire 5 0.15x
Dumfriesshire 5 0.49x
Huntingdonshire 5 0.55x
Oxfordshire 5 0.18x
Norfolk 4 0.06x
Wiltshire 4 0.10x
Anglesey 3 0.37x
Cambridgeshire 3 0.10x
Royal Navy 3 0.55x
Ayrshire 2 0.06x
Caernarfonshire 2 0.11x
Isle of Man 2 0.24x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.02x
Glamorgan 1 0.01x
Herefordshire 1 0.05x
Monmouthshire 1 0.03x
Wigtownshire 1 0.16x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Manchester in Lancashire leads with 117 Percivals recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.79x.

Place Total Index
Manchester 117 4.79x
Salford 78 4.88x
Irchester 65 243.17x
Oldham 60 3.42x
Bermondsey 51 3.74x
Sedgley 51 8.89x
Lambeth 47 1.18x
Runcorn 47 20.18x
Chorlton On Medlock 46 5.33x
Camberwell 45 1.54x
Leicester St Margaret 41 3.31x
Islington London 40 0.90x
Hulme 38 3.35x
Warrington 35 5.44x
Carperby Cum Thoresby 32 677.97x
Newington 32 1.89x
Shoreditch London 31 1.56x
Cheetham 29 7.16x
Chelmorton 28 762.94x
Tipton 28 5.92x
Kirkdale 27 2.96x
Lymm 27 36.76x
Rotherhithe 27 4.77x
Great Bolton 26 3.61x
Rockcliff 26 212.24x
Altrincham 25 14.16x
Mile End Old Town 25 3.46x
Birmingham 24 0.62x
Burgh By Sands 23 180.53x
Cheadle 23 11.92x
Frodsham Lordship 23 134.58x
Liverpool 23 0.70x
Stockport 23 4.42x
Paddington London 22 1.31x
Sheffield 22 1.52x
Wharton 22 39.99x
Huddersfield 21 3.18x
St Pancras London 21 0.57x
Toxteth Park 21 1.14x
Ashton Under Lyne 20 1.68x
Barton Upon Irwell 20 4.89x
Chapel 20 356.51x
Deptford St Paul 20 1.66x
West Ham 20 1.00x
Great Tey 19 173.67x
Heaton Norris 19 6.15x
Low Holme 19 85.47x
Newton In Makerfield 19 11.42x
Northampton St Sepulchre 19 8.68x
Widnes 19 4.85x
Withington 19 10.86x
Aston 18 0.57x
Birkenhead 18 2.23x
Kingsthorpe 18 37.62x
Newton In Northwich 18 58.54x
Woolwich 18 3.12x
Everton 17 0.98x
Handsworth 17 14.18x
Northampton Priory St 17 6.58x
Rushden 17 29.52x
Whitby 17 72.93x
Appleton 16 69.90x
Ardwick 16 3.27x
Bagworth 16 169.13x
Battersea 16 0.95x
Bethnal Green London 16 0.80x
Bromley London 16 1.59x
Daventry 16 26.27x
Edgbaston 16 4.47x
Frodsham 16 40.88x
Hartington Town Quarter 16 237.04x
Hugglescote 16 21.43x
Liscard 16 8.79x
Little Lever 16 23.04x
Southwark St George Martyr 16 1.74x
West Bromwich 16 1.81x
Kensington London 15 0.59x
Newchurch 15 3.38x
Spalding 15 10.33x
West Derby 15 0.94x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Percival surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 363
Elizabeth 209
Sarah 172
Jane 93
Ann 89
Alice 77
Annie 77
Margaret 70
Eliza 69
Emma 65
Ellen 63
Hannah 57
Martha 54
Emily 47
Louisa 33
Ada 31
Fanny 31
Charlotte 28
Florence 26
Catherine 24
Maria 24
Harriet 22
Edith 21
Isabella 21
Frances 20
Kate 18
Caroline 17
Clara 17
Lucy 17
Amelia 16
Agnes 13
Elizth. 13
Esther 13
Gertrude 13
Anne 12
Harriett 12
Amy 11
Lydia 11
Rose 11
Bertha 9
Julia 9
Rebecca 9
Ethel 8
Susan 8
Susannah 8
Beatrice 7
Betsy 7
Jessie 6
Laura 6
Ruth 6

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Percival surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 276
William 249
James 175
Thomas 169
George 161
Joseph 103
Charles 97
Henry 81
Robert 61
Edward 51
Samuel 48
Alfred 43
Richard 42
Arthur 38
Walter 38
Frederick 31
Harry 28
Albert 27
Peter 24
Frank 18
Herbert 18
Daniel 16
David 15
Ernest 15
Benjamin 14
Francis 12
Ralph 11
Thos. 11
Wm. 11
Edwin 10
Isaac 10
Enoch 9
Fred 7
Joshua 7
Abraham 6
Andrew 6
Matthew 6
Percy 6
Spencer 6
Geo. 5
Michael 5
A. 4
Adam 4
Nathan 4
Philip 4
Robt. 4
Sidney 4
Solomon 4
Jno. 3
Richd. 3

FAQ

Percival surname: questions and answers

How common was the Percival surname in 1881?

In 1881, 4,675 people were recorded with the Percival surname. That placed it at #953 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Percival surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 6,040 in 2016. That gives Percival a modern rank of #1,115.

What does the Percival surname mean?

One who pierces the valley, or one who perceives the veil; derived from Old French.

What does the Percival map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Percival bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.