2000
#4,243
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,725
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.86
Rare Last name
Purnell
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "pear tree hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,447 Americans carry the last name Purnell. That puts it at #4,163 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,282 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Purnell 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Purnell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.4K
1 in 36,282
Census rank
#4,163
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,238 bearers of the surname Purnell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4163rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Purnell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.5%. The next largest groups are White (31.1%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Purnell
The surname Purnell is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "purnon," meaning a small stream or brook. This name originated in the counties of Somerset and Wiltshire, where it was first recorded in the 13th century.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the name appears as "Purnella," referring to a small settlement near a stream. This early spelling suggests that the name was initially a place name before becoming a surname.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Richard Purnell, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset in 1230. Another early bearer of the name was John de Purnele, recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Wiltshire in 1273.
In the 16th century, the Purnell family was well-established in the village of Broadwindsor, Dorset. Thomas Purnell (1529-1617) was a prominent landowner and member of this family.
Sir Robert Purnell (1585-1666) was an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Taunton during the English Civil War. He supported the Parliamentarian cause and was knighted by Oliver Cromwell.
Samuel Purnell (1683-1768) was an English clergyman and author, known for his work "A Treatise of Comets" published in 1733.
Thomas Purnell (1784-1833) was a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a politician, representing Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in the House of Commons.
William Purnell (1808-1878) was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire and Surrey in the early days of county cricket.
Purnell has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Purnell's Brook in Somerset and Purnell's Mill in Gloucestershire, further reflecting the name's origins as a place name related to streams or brooks.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Purnell
Among Census respondents with the surname Purnell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.5%. The next largest groups are White (31.1%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Purnell 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 Purnell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.5% · 4,899
- White31.1% · 2,563
- Two or more races5.2% · 431
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 271
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Purnell
Purnell 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
#4,197
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,441
+716 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 2.86
Rank movement Up 46 places
2020
#4,163
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,238
-203 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 2.76
Rank movement Up 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,243 | 7,725 | 2.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,197 | 8,441 | 2.86 | +716 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 46 places |
| 2020 | #4,163 | 8,238 | 2.76 | -203 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 34 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 Purnell 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 | #4,197 | #4,163 | 0.8% |
| Count | 8,441 | 8,238 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.86 | 2.76 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Purnell bearers went from 8,441 to 8,238 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,197 to #4,163.
FAQ
Purnell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Purnell?
Name Census estimates that about 9,447 living Americans carry the surname Purnell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,282 residents.
How common is Purnell?
Purnell ranks #4,163 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,238 people with the surname Purnell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,447), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Purnell.
Has Purnell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Purnell went from 8,441 recorded bearers to 8,238. That is a decrease of 203 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,197 to #4,163.
What does the Census say about the background of Purnell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Purnell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.5%. The next largest groups are White (31.1%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Purnell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.5% (4,899 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Purnell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (59.5%), White (31.1%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Purnell (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 Purnell mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "pear tree hill" in Old English. 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 Purnell (2.76 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 Americans have the surname Purnell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.