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Percy

“Variant of Percival — Welsh 'spear and steel'; folk-etymologized as 'pierce the valley'” — Welsh, via Old French origin

Boy's name · #1279 in the US (2025) · Comeback

Percy was #98 in 1897, slipped to #3151 by 2008, and has climbed back to #1279 today. Roughly 32,000 boys have been named Percy since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Around the world: about 1 in 1,400 boys in New Zealand (2025) · about 1 in 1,800 boys in England & Wales (2025) · about 1 in 11,000 boys in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 15 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Percys

• Percy Bysshe Shelley — British Romantic poet (1792–1822)
• Percy Liza — Peruvian footballer
• Percy Williams Bridgman — American physicist
• Percy Sledge — American singer (1941–2015)
• Percy Fawcett — British explorer, anthropologist and archaeologist (1867–1925)

In stories & tradition

• Percy Weasley — Harry Potter · Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Percy Jackson — The Heroes of Olympus · Percy Jackson & the Olympians
• Percy the Small Engine — Thomas & Friends · The Railway Series

What Percys become

Among 1,106 notable people named Percy:

Sports figures appear 1.62× more often than among typical names — e.g. Percy Liza, Peruvian footballer.

Similar names: Percival · Foster · Perry · Archie · Lucius · Ollie

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

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