Percival

Meaning: Spear and steel; folk-etymologized as pierce the valley
Origin: French (from Welsh, via Old French) — The spear and steel interpretation is Welsh

Nicknames: Percy

Boy's name · #1536 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Percival is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1886, when it ranked #744. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 1,500 boys since 1880, ranked #1536 today.

Across the states

See where Percival is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 3 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Percival ranks in other countries and regions.

#743 in England & Wales (2025) · #2,774 in Canada (2024).

Famous Percivals

Percival Lowell — American astronomer (1855–1916)
Percival Everett — American writer (born 1956)
Percival Davson — British fencer and tennis player (1877–1959)
Percival Proctor Baxter — American politician (1876–1969)
Percival Molson — Canadian ice hockey player (1880–1917)

As a surname

It is also an American family name — about 3,300 people carried it as a surname in the 2010 census.

Arthur Percival — British army officer in the First and Second World Wars
Ria Percival — New Zealand association football player
Lance Percival — British actor and comedian (1933–2015)

In stories & tradition

Percival — Parsifal (musical stage work)
Percival Dumbledore — Harry Potter (novel series)
Percival McLeach^es — The Rescuers Down Under (film)

What Percivals become

Among 169 notable people named Percival:

Military figures appear 3.55× more often than among typical names — e.g. Percival John Montague, Canadian general.

Spellings & nicknames

About 120 boys a year are given Percy as their full name.

Similar names: Percy · June · Perseus · Ellison · Loyal · Mercer

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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