How Many People Are Named Purnell?
An estimated 472 people in the United States have the first name Purnell. It is predominantly male (99.2%). The average bearer is 59 years old, and Purnell peaked in popularity in 1919 with 21 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Purnell 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 Purnell paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
472
About 1 in 726,174 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
99.2% confidence
Average Age
59
years old
Peak Year
1919
21 births
Total Registered
768
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Purnell
Purnell is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 768 total births registered, 99.2% were male.
Purnell as a male name
Ranked #11,831 in 2010
6 male births in 2010
Peak: 1964 (19 births)
Purnell as a female name
Ranked #4,702 in 1919
6 female births in 1919
Peak: 1919 (6 births)
Purnell: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Purnell span from the 1910s to the 2010s, covering 11 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 126 babies were registered. Purnell has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Purnell by Decade
How has Purnell 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.
Purnell + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Purnell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Purnell
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Purnell: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Purnell?
We estimate approximately 472 people named Purnell 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 726,174 Americans share this first name.
Is Purnell a common name?
Purnell is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 84% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 768 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Purnell most popular?
Purnell reached peak popularity in 1919, when 21 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Purnell is approximately 59 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Purnell a male name?
Purnell is predominantly male. 99.2% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Purnell Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Purnell Smith, Purnell Johnson, Purnell 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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