Percy
Percy was the 1279th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 154 babies. Its best year was 1897, when it ranked 98th; the most babies were born in 1921 (603). Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,012 places. More babies were named Percy in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning from Percy-en-Auge, Normandy · French, English
Say it PUR-see /ˈpɝsi/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,279 boys, up 782 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 154boys
- Girls and boys
- 6% girls, 94% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1921603 babies
- Total since 1880
- 32,840babies recorded
What does the name Percy mean?
Percy is an English surname from the Norman village of Percy-en-Auge, whose lords came to England after the Conquest and became the powerful Percy earls of Northumberland. Wiktionary traces the place-name to a Gallo-Roman estate name from the family name Persius. The surname then became a first name, and Percy also serves as a short form of Percival. It was most common in the US around 1900 to 1920.
Percy-en-Auge (French, “village in Normandy”)Persius (Latin, “Gallo-Roman family name”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Percival, Perceval.
See also: French names, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Percy', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Percy', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Percival', DMNES (Durham University)
Percy popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,941 | #1,279 | 10 | 154 |
| 2020 | #13,137 | #2,061 | 7 | 69 |
| 2010 | — | #2,906 | — | 41 |
| 2000 | — | #1,990 | — | 52 |
| 1990 | — | #1,051 | — | 102 |
| 1980 | — | #788 | — | 124 |
| 1970 | — | #614 | — | 175 |
| 1960 | #4,686 | #482 | 9 | 270 |
| 1950 | #4,639 | #333 | 7 | 411 |
| 1940 | #3,439 | #311 | 8 | 328 |
| 1930 | #2,660 | #274 | 12 | 429 |
| 1920 | #2,698 | #216 | 13 | 601 |
| 1910 | #1,898 | #160 | 8 | 195 |
| 1900 | #2,165 | #114 | 5 | 201 |
| 1890 | — | #113 | — | 140 |
| 1880 | — | #144 | — | 94 |
How popular is Percy, counting every spelling?
Percy has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #1,217 for boys in 2025, against #1,279 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Percy?
154 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Percy (0.04 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Percy born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 54 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Percy.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Percy?
About 10,900 people born in the US named Percy are alive today, with a median age of 61; half are between 40 and 74. That makes Percy a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Percy by state
How common Percy was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Indiana (2.1×). In 32 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Percy: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Percy, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Percy · Sibling names for Percy
Percy is also a nickname for Persephone.
Questions about the name Percy
What does Percy mean?
Percy means “from Percy-en-Auge, Normandy” (French, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Percy?
Percy was the 1279th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 154 babies. Its best year was 1897, when it ranked 98th; the most babies were born in 1921 (603). Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,012 places. More babies were named Percy in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Percy a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 6% girls, 94% boys given the name Percy in the US.
Where is Percy most popular?
In 2021–2025, Percy was most common in Indiana (0.15 per 1,000 boys), followed by Utah and Minnesota.