Percival is a distinctive choice, ranked #814 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Percival in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#814
About the Name Percival
2024 marks Percival's peak year in UK records so far, sitting at UK #814. The name has climbed 271 places in the last five years — a significant surge by any measure. The name has been a regular feature in UK records since 1997.
Percival is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Percival
Unlikely. With around 40 UK babies named Percival per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Percival in his class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Percival is currently rising in popularity in the UK, up 271 places over the last five years to #814 in 2024. If this trend continues, it will become more common in classrooms over the next decade.
Percival is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Percival include: Percival David — Sir Percival Victor David Ezekiel David, 2nd Baronet was a Bombay-born British financier who is best known as a scholar and collector of Chinese ceramics.; Percival Kirby — Percival Robson Kirby was a Scottish-born South African ethnomusicologist, musicologist, historian, and professor..
Percival does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Percivals in the wild.
40
UK babies named Percival (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 271 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Percival
Likely around 1 other Percival in the class
UK Popularity (1997–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Percival
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Thomas George Percival Spear was a British historian of modern South Asia, in particular of its colonial period. He taught at both Cambridge University and St.
Percival Lowell was an American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, and furthered theories of a ninth planet within the Solar System. He founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and formed the beginning of the effort that led to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death.
Sir Percival Victor David Ezekiel David, 2nd Baronet was a Bombay-born British financier who is best known as a scholar and collector of Chinese ceramics. His collection of Chinese ceramics in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art is regarded as the world's most important single collection outside of the palace collections in China and Taiwan.
Major Percival James Savage, DSO, MBE was an Australian soldier, farmer and agricultural administrator. He was a World War I veteran, fighting as an ANZAC in Gallipoli, the Somme, Pozières, Passchendaele and Amiens.
Percival Robson Kirby was a Scottish-born South African ethnomusicologist, musicologist, historian, and professor. He is best known for his work on the study and preservation of southern African indigenous music, particularly his pioneering text The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa.