Find out how popular the last name Purkey is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Purkey.

Purkey, 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 Purkey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Purkey in America

Purkey is the 13142nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Purkey surname appeared 2,329 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Purkey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Purkey 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.

The history of the last name Purkey

The surname Purkey originated in England during the late medieval period. It is thought to be a locational name derived from the Old English words 'pyrie' meaning 'pear tree' and 'eg' meaning 'island' or 'dry ground'. Thus, Purkey may have referred to someone who lived near a pear tree on an island or elevated area.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Purkey appears in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1195, where it is spelled 'Pyriege'. This suggests the name was already well-established by the late 12th century in the West Midlands region of England.

By the 14th century, various spellings had emerged such as Pyryge, Pyrryge, and Purrige. These can be found in records like the Subsidy Rolls for Staffordshire from 1327 and the Feudal Aids of 1428. The modern spelling of Purkey seems to have become standardized by the 16th century.

One notable bearer of the name was John Purkey, a merchant from Bristol who was involved in the wool trade with the Netherlands in the early 15th century. Records show he exported wool to Antwerp and Rotterdam between 1412-1429.

Later, in the 16th century, there was a William Purkey (c.1520-1587) who served as a Member of Parliament for Shropshire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He was from an influential landed gentry family based near Shrewsbury.

Another early Purkey of note was Robert Purkey (1598-1667), a Protestant clergyman who became the Vicar of Leek in Staffordshire after being ejected from his previous parish during the upheavals of the English Civil War era.

Moving into the 1700s, Edward Purkey (1712-1782) was a respected physician who practiced medicine in London and published several treatises on epidemic diseases of the time.

Finally, in the early 19th century, the Victorian poet and essayist Thomas Purkey (1819-1891) became renowned for his writings celebrating the natural landscapes of his native Derbyshire in the East Midlands region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Purkey

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Purkey.

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Purkey was:

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 Purkey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

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 Purkey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Purkey, please contact us.

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