Percey
Derived from an old French form of the name Percival, meaning "one who pierces a valley".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Percey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Percey today is around 113 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Percey births was 1916 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Percey. 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
- • The typical person named Percey is about 113 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Perceys were born before 1923.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Percey. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1916
7 babies that year
Average age
113
years old
1930 SSA rank
#4,417
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Percey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Percey from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 24 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Percey 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 Percey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Percey
The name Percey is derived from the Old French name Piers, which itself comes from the Latin name Petrus, meaning "rock". The name Petrus is the Latin variation of the Greek name Πέτρος (Petros), which is derived from the word πέτρα (petra), meaning "rock" or "stone". This name was borne by the apostle Peter in the New Testament of the Bible.
The name Percey first emerged in England during the Middle Ages, likely as a Norman French variant of the name Piers. It was particularly popular among the nobility and upper classes, as many Norman nobles bore this name after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Percey is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a nobleman named Percey is listed as holding lands in Yorkshire. In the 12th century, a prominent family known as the House of Percy emerged in Northumberland, England, and produced several notable figures throughout history.
One of the most famous Perceys in history was Sir Henry Percy, known as Harry Hotspur (1364-1403), a member of the House of Percy who played a prominent role in the rebellions against King Henry IV during the early 15th century. Another notable Percey was Thomas Percy (1729-1811), an English bishop and antiquarian who published a collection of ancient English ballads and songs.
In literature, the name Percey appears in several works, including William Shakespeare's play "Henry IV, Part 1", where the character of Harry Hotspur is a central figure. The name also features in Sir Walter Scott's novel "Marmion" (1808), where one of the main characters is named Lord Percy.
Other notable individuals named Percey throughout history include:
1. Percey Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), an English Romantic poet and one of the most influential poets of the 19th century.
2. Percey Sledge (1927-2017), an American blues singer and guitarist known for his hit song "When a Man Loves a Woman".
3. Percey Everitt (1870-1952), an English cricketer who played Test cricket for England in the late 19th century.
4. Percey Bates (1892-1960), an American actor and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and films.
5. Percey Grainger (1882-1961), an Australian-born composer and pianist who made significant contributions to the development of modern classical music.
People
Percey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Percey 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
Percey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Percey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Percey 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Percey a common name?
We classify Percey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 39 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Percey most popular?
The single biggest year for Percey was 1916, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Percey is about 113 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 Percey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Percey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Percey 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 Percey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Percey 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 Percey 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 common is the name Percey?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.