2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Purvee
A surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "one who distributes provisions or supplies".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Purvee. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Purvee 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Purvee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Purvee, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.8%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Purvee
The surname Purvee originates from the Indian subcontinent, likely emerging in the region now known as Punjab during the medieval period. It is believed to derive from the Sanskrit word "purva," meaning "eastern" or "ancient," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone from the eastern part of a village or town.
One of the earliest known references to the name Purvee can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century administrative document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. This text mentions a certain Purvee Singh, a landowner and military commander in the service of the Mughal Empire.
In the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the Purvee surname was Bhai Purvee Das, a prominent Sikh scholar and poet who authored several works on Sikh theology and philosophy. His writings, particularly his interpretations of the Guru Granth Sahib, were highly influential within the Sikh community.
During the 18th century, the Purvee name was associated with a family of wealthy merchants and traders based in the city of Lahore, now in modern-day Pakistan. This family played a significant role in the region's commercial activities, establishing trade routes and fostering economic ties with neighboring regions.
In the early 19th century, a military commander named Purvee Singh Khalsa gained recognition for his bravery and leadership during the Anglo-Sikh Wars. He was instrumental in several key battles against the British East India Company's forces, earning him the respect and admiration of his contemporaries.
More recently, in the 20th century, Purvee Lal Mehta was a renowned Indian architect and urban planner. Born in 1897, he was responsible for designing several iconic buildings and urban developments in cities like New Delhi and Chandigarh, contributing significantly to the modernization of India's built environment.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Purvee, which has its roots in the ancient languages and cultures of the Indian subcontinent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Purvee
Among Census respondents with the surname Purvee, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.8%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Purvee 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 Purvee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.2% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.8% · 18
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Purvee
Purvee appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 3,162 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 Purvee 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 | #158,432 | #155,270 | 2.0% |
| Count | 102 | 101 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Purvee bearers went from 102 to 101 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,162 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #155,270.
FAQ
Purvee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Purvee?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Purvee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Purvee?
Purvee ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Purvee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Purvee.
Has Purvee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Purvee went from 102 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Purvee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Purvee, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.8%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Purvee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.2% (82 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Purvee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (17.8%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Purvee (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 Purvee mean?
A surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "one who distributes provisions or supplies". 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 Purvee (0.03 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 are called Purvee?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Purvee, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.