Origins of the Perry surname

What does the name Perry mean?

Perry is an English surname, with two common hypothesised points of origin. Firstly it is thought to come from the Middle English 'pirie' (pear-tree), and denote somebody who lived near or worked with pear trees. It is also believed by some to be a patronymic, deriving from the French name 'Pierre', and given to those who were the son or lineage of a person of that name.

Alternative variations of the name Perry

Perry, Perie, Perrie, Pery, Pirie

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Delve deeper into the Perry family's history

OrkneyShetlandHighlandsWestern IslesGrampianTaysideCentralStrathclydeFifeLothianBordersDumfriesNorth East 487North West 663Isle of Man 45Yorkshire 1033East Midlands 382West Midlands 3565East 2655London 5826South East 2324South West 1526South Wales 473Mid Wales 55West Wales 12North Wales 52Republic of IrelandNorthern Ireland

In 1921, most Perrys lived in london

Census records trace your ancestors through each generation, so you can follow where your relatives lived through each decade.

44,000 Perry Travel & migration records
230,000 Perrys found in all Census records

Interesting facts about Perry

How common is your surname?

144th most common surname in the UK

We have for the Perry surname. The oldest one dates back to 1220.

Who were Perrys most likely to marry?

Our tell us which families married Perrys.

What are the most common Perry first names?

John

William

Mary

Elizabeth

Our tell us the names of Perry family members
Man with milk churns and census card collage
Census records provide incredible detail on names, ages, marital statuses, occupations and more.

Common jobs for Perrys

Men and women often performed different types of jobs, so these are displayed by gender to maintain their historical accuracy.

Common female occupations for Perrys in 1921

Dressmaker

974

Laundress

798

Domestic Servant

573

General Servant Domestic

561

General Servant

477

Common male occupations for Perrys in 1921

Agricultural Labourer

1,156

General Labourer

857

Coal Miner

846

Farm Labourer

672

Carpenter

613

We found over 420,000 family trees with the Perry surname

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