How Many People Are Named Purcell Smith?
There are approximately 2 people named Purcell Smith living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Purcell with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Smith. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.
Estimated People with This Name
2
1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Combination Rarity
Very Rare
First Name
View full profilePurcell
Last Name
View full profileSmith
Purcell: Popularity Over Time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Purcell. The peak year was 1948 with 13 births. The average person named Purcell today is 66 years old.
Ancestry of the First Name Purcell
In the 2020 Census, the first name Purcell was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Black (84.85%). The next largest recorded groups were American Indian and Alaska Native (5.19%) and White (4.33%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Purcell in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.
Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Purcell rose or fell over time.
Ancestry of the Smith Surname
The surname Smith was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.
This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Smith in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.
How we calculated this
The first name "Purcell" has an estimated frequency of < 0.0001% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.
The surname "Smith" appears at a rate of 792.79 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.
We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Purcell are likely to be alive now.
Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 2 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.
Other people named Purcell
Other people with the surname Smith
Purcell Smith: Questions and Answers
How many people are named Purcell Smith?
We estimate approximately 2 people named Purcell Smith are alive in the United States today. The first name Purcell is shared by 218 Americans, and the surname Smith is shared by 2,717,332.
How rare is the name Purcell Smith?
This name combination is classified as Very Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans. The first name Purcell is very rare and the surname Smith is very common.
Is Purcell a male or female name?
Purcell is predominantly male, with 100.0% of bearers being male and 0.0% female. It peaked in popularity in 1948 and the average bearer today is 66 years old.
What does the Census say about the first name Purcell?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Purcell was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Black (84.85%). The next largest recorded groups were American Indian and Alaska Native (5.19%) and White (4.33%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.
Where does this data come from?
First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.
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