Region of origin England | Language(s) of origin Old English | |
Meaning One who dwells by a pear tree (Geographical); quarryman | ||
Perry is a surname with several distinct origins. In England deriving from the Old English pyrige (pear tree), referring to one who dwells by a pear tree, while in Wales Perry, along with Parry, arose as patronymics, via a shortening of "ap Harry" (son of Harry). There are some variants in the Romance or Romantic languages (derived from the Latin): Pereira, Pereyra, Pereyro, Pereiro, Pereiros Pereire, Perera, Perer, Perero, Pereros; the Norman French perrieur (quarry), possibly referring to a quarryman. Perry was recorded as a surname from the late 16th century in villages near Colchester, Essex, East England, such as Lexden and Copford. Perry has some resemblance with the Portuguese common surname Pereira, which means pear tree in Portuguese language. Because of that, many Portuguese immigrants to the USA (especially Massachusetts) chose to "Americanize" their Pereira surname to Perry. The Italian surname, Perri, related to "Peter", is also often Americanized to Perry.
Geographical distribution
At the time of the United Kingdom Census of 1881, the frequency of the surname Perry was highest in the following counties:
As of 2014, the frequency of the surname was highest in the following countries and territories:
As of 2014, 67.0% of all known bearers of the surname Perry were residents of the United States. The frequency of the surname was higher than national average in the following U.S. states:
The frequency of the surname was highest (over 10 times the national average) in the following U.S. counties: