2000
#12,858
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,194
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Purkey
Derived from the Middle English word "pourkey," referring to a seller or keeper of pigs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,339 Americans carry the last name Purkey. That puts it at #14,129 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 146,539 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Purkey surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 146,539
Census rank
#14,129
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,040 bearers of the surname Purkey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14129th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Purkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Purkey
Among Census respondents with the surname Purkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Purkey bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Purkey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 1,833
- Two or more races4.5% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Purkey
Purkey appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,329
+135 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 284 places
2020
#14,129
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,040
-289 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 987 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,858 | 2,194 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,142 | 2,329 | 0.79 | +135 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 284 places |
| 2020 | #14,129 | 2,040 | 0.68 | -289 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 987 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Purkey surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,142 | #14,129 | -7.5% |
| Count | 2,329 | 2,040 | -12.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.68 | -13.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Purkey bearers went from 2,329 to 2,040 (-12.4% change). The surname moved down 987 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,142 to #14,129.
FAQ
Purkey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Purkey?
Name Census estimates that about 2,339 living Americans carry the surname Purkey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 146,539 residents.
How common is Purkey?
Purkey ranks #14,129 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,040 people with the surname Purkey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,339), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Purkey.
Has Purkey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Purkey went from 2,329 recorded bearers to 2,040. That is a decrease of 289 (-12.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,142 to #14,129.
What does the Census say about the background of Purkey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Purkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Purkey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (1,833 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Purkey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (4.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Purkey (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Purkey mean?
Derived from the Middle English word "pourkey," referring to a seller or keeper of pigs. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Purkey (0.68 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Purkey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.