Find out how popular the last name Percer is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Percer.
A French surname derived from the verb "percer," meaning "to pierce" or "to bore holes."
Percer, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Percer surname is from the 2010 census data.
Percer is the 138304th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Percer surname appeared 121 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Percer.
We can also compare 2010 data for Percer to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 138304 | 141788 | -2.49% |
Count | 121 | 108 | 11.35% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.00% |
The surname "PERCER" is believed to have originated in France during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old French verb "percer," which means "to pierce" or "to bore through." This occupational surname was likely given to someone whose trade involved piercing or drilling, such as a maker of holes or a carpenter who specialized in woodworking.
The earliest recorded references to the name can be found in various French records and documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. It was most commonly found in the northern regions of France, particularly in Normandy and Brittany. The spelling variations of the name during this time included "Perceur," "Percier," and "Percier."
One notable mention of the name is in a 14th-century manuscript from the city of Rouen, which lists a "Guillaume Percer" as a skilled carpenter who worked on the construction of a local church. Another early record is from a 1398 tax roll in the village of Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf, which includes a "Jehan Percier" among the list of residents.
As the name spread across Europe, it took on various regional spellings and adaptations. In England, for example, the name was often written as "Piercer" or "Peircer." One of the earliest known bearers of the name in England was John Peircer, a merchant from Bristol who was born around 1520.
In the 17th century, a notable figure with the surname was Pierre Percer, a French architect and engineer who was born in 1625 in Paris. He is known for his work on several notable buildings, including the Château de Versailles and the Palais des Tuileries.
Another prominent individual was Jean-Baptiste Percier, a French architect and interior designer who lived from 1764 to 1838. He is renowned for his work on numerous Parisian landmarks, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Palais Bourbon.
In the 19th century, a German artist named Wilhelm Percer (1832-1901) gained recognition for his landscape paintings, which often depicted scenes from the Black Forest region of Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the United States was Benjamin Piercer, who was born in 1745 in Massachusetts and fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Overall, the surname "PERCER" has a rich history that spans several centuries and numerous countries, reflecting its origins as an occupational name in medieval France.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Percer.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Percer was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 69.42% | 84 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | 15.70% | 19 |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 7.44% | 9 |
Hispanic Origin | 4.96% | 6 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Percer has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 69.42% | 75.93% | -8.96% |
Black | 15.70% | 20.37% | -25.89% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | 0.00% | (S)% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Two or More Races | 7.44% | (S)% | (S)% |
Hispanic | 4.96% | (S)% | (S)% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Percer was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/percer-surname-popularity/">Percer last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Percer last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 3, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/percer-surname-popularity/.
"Percer last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/percer-surname-popularity/. Accessed 3 August, 2025
Percer last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/percer-surname-popularity/.
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