Meaning of the namePercival

Percival is a masculine name of French origin, coming from a knight in a twelfth-century Arthurian romance; the etymology is uncertain.

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 1,309 people named Percival, the 6,903rd most common name in Brazil. Their median age is 60, and the largest group was born in the 1950s. Proportionally, it is most common in Goiás.

Meaning

The meaning of Percival is not known for certain. The sources consulted give no settled meaning for it, so we give none; below are the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

People (2022): 1,309
Rank in Brazil: #6,903
Median age: 60 years
2010 Census: 1,504; people

Percival in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Percival, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1950s (360 people).

0 women 1,307 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Percival is most common

States with the highest share of people named Percival in the population, in the 2022 Census.

Goiás 0.002%
São Paulo 0.001%
Rio Grande do Sul 0.001%

All states

State	People	% of population
São Paulo	566	0.001%
Rio Grande do Sul	130	0.001%
Goiás	110	0.002%
Paraná	91	0.001%
Bahia	76	0.001%
Minas Gerais	68	0.000%
Rio de Janeiro	41	0.000%
Mato Grosso do Sul	33	0.001%
Mato Grosso	30	0.001%
Santa Catarina	25	0.000%
Pará	22	0.000%
Pernambuco	17	0.000%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Percival

Wiktionary traces Percival to Old French Perceval, the name of a knight in a twelfth-century Arthurian romance. The form resembles Old French percier ('to pierce') and val ('valley'), but probably represents a Gaulish or Old Welsh name, possibly related to Welsh Peredur. Behind the Name also marks the etymology as uncertain and lists Parsifal and Parzival as variants. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 1,309 people named Percival, with a median age of 60. The name is almost always male, most records come from people born in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and, proportionally, it is most common in Goiás.

Sources

Wiktionary: Percival · en.wiktionary.org · origin
Behind the Name: Percival · behindthename.com · origin

Questions about the name Percival

What does the name Percival mean?

The meaning of Percival is not known for certain: the sources consulted give no settled meaning for it. So we give none; the page shows the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

How many people are named Percival in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 1,309 people with the first name Percival, which ranks it number 6,903 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1950s.

Is Percival a boy's or a girl's name?

Percival is a male name: in the 2022 Census, 0 women and 1,307 men had this name (IBGE does not publish very small counts).

What is the origin of the name Percival?

Percival is a name of French and Celtic origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Percival most common?

Proportionally, in Goiás: 0.002% of the state's population is named Percival (110 people), according to the 2022 Census.

More names of French origin

See all

Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Percival with a source. See the methodology.