How Many People Are Named Purcell?
An estimated 218 people in the United States have the first name Purcell. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 66 years old, and Purcell peaked in popularity in 1948 with 13 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Purcell as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Purcell paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 66, Purcell is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1970.
Estimated Living Americans
218
About 1 in 1,572,268 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
66
years old
Peak Year
1948
13 births
Total Registered
454
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Purcell
Purcell is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 454 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Purcell as a male name
Ranked #5,597 in 1985
7 male births in 1985
Peak: 1948 (13 births)
Purcell: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Purcell span from the 1910s to the 1980s, covering 8 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 91 babies were registered. Purcell has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Purcell by Decade
How has Purcell tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Purcell by State
Purcell + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Purcell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Purcell
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Purcell: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Purcell?
We estimate approximately 218 people named Purcell are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,572,268 Americans share this first name.
Is Purcell a common name?
Purcell is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 75.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 454 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Purcell most popular?
Purcell reached peak popularity in 1948, when 13 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Purcell is approximately 66 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Purcell a male name?
Purcell is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Purcell Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Purcell Smith, Purcell Johnson, Purcell Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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