Perceval
A masculine name of French origin derived from the Old French "Percevaus".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Perceval. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Perceval today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Perceval births was 2019 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Perceval. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Perceval. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2019
5 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,622
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Perceval: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Perceval by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Perceval during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Perceval
The name Perceval originated from the Old French name Percevaus or Perceval. It is derived from the Germanic elements "pere" meaning pear tree and "wald" meaning woods or forest, essentially meaning "one who lives near the pear trees in the woods". The name has been recorded as early as the 12th century.
Perceval is most notably associated with the Arthurian legend of Perceval, the naive and pure knight who was instrumental in the quest for the Holy Grail. The character first appeared in the 12th-century unfinished Old French poem Perceval, the Story of the Grail by Chrétien de Troyes. This work was a significant influence on later Arthurian literature and the depiction of the Holy Grail legend.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Perceval de Cressonsacq, a French knight who lived in the late 12th century. He participated in the Third Crusade alongside King Richard I of England and was mentioned in several chronicles of the time.
In the 13th century, there was a Perceval de Grandville, a Norman nobleman who served as a seneschal (chief steward) to the Count of Anjou and played a role in the conflicts between the Capetian and Plantagenet dynasties.
Perceval Lowe (1554-1615) was an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford in the late 16th century. He was known for his diplomatic skills and worked to resolve disputes between the university and the city of Oxford.
Perceval Landon (1868-1935) was a British writer, journalist, and biographer. He is best known for his biographies of notable figures such as Lord Dufferin and Viceroy Lord Curzon of India, as well as his travel writings about India and Central Asia.
Sir Perceval Willoughby, 9th Baron Willoughby of Parham (1550-1614) was an English nobleman and military commander who served as a Member of Parliament and fought in the Anglo-Spanish War and the Nine Years' War in Ireland.
People
Perceval + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Perceval as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Perceval: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Perceval?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Perceval going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Perceval a common name?
We classify Perceval as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Perceval most popular?
The single biggest year for Perceval was 2019, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Perceval is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Perceval in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Perceval a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Perceval in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Perceval still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Perceval in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Perceval can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Perceval?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.