Fun Facts About the Name Parish
- More than 1 thousand babies named Parish: U.S. records list 1,212 babies given the name Parish from 1880 through 2025. Even 302 girls received the name Parish - about 1 girl for every 3 boys.
What Does the Name Parish Mean?
Parish is an English name meaning "parish (church district)," taken from the surname Parish. The surname comes from the Old French paroisse, "parish," which traces back to Latin parochia and, further back, to Greek paroikia, "a sojourning" or "a dwelling beside," formed from para ("beside") and oikos ("house").
As a surname it was usually a topographic or occupational name: it identified someone who lived by the parish church, worked for the parish, or belonged to a particular parish. The spelling Parrish is a common variant. The similar-looking name Paris is a separate name with its own origin, so the two should not be treated as one.
Parish Name History & Origins
The word "parish" entered English from Old French paroisse in the centuries after the Norman Conquest, when the parish was the basic unit of church life and local administration in England. Surnames drawn from it - Parish, Parrish, and related spellings - appear in English records from the Middle Ages onward, attached to people who lived near a parish church or held a position connected with the parish.
Parish is chiefly a family name. Its use as a first name is a modern transferred use of the surname, part of the long English practice of giving surnames as given names. Some families recorded as Parish may instead descend from the medieval personal name Paris rather than from the word for a parish, and the two origins can be hard to separate in old records.
How Popular is the Name Parish?
Parish has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1991. Its best rank was #1,596 in 1967.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | #16,927 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #12,162 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #15,465 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #11,562 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2015 | #15,941 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #11,699 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2013 | #12,877 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #9,576 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #11,929 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #8,603 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2009 | #11,281 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2008 | #13,501 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #12,411 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #10,436 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #11,590 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2003 | #12,114 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #11,798 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #10,520 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1999 | #10,113 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #13,678 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #8,845 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1996 | #9,368 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #11,429 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1994 | #7,468 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #7,914 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #5,208 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1991 | #6,876 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1990 | #12,465 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #8,542 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #13,280 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #12,668 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #9,280 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #10,768 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #8,925 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #6,575 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,740 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #11,931 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #9,521 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #7,131 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #11,771 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2020 | #8,551 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #8,008 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #13,738 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #5,489 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2015 | #6,590 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2014 | #7,973 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2013 | #7,945 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #8,690 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #5,371 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #7,447 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #7,125 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2008 | #10,730 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #11,984 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #10,368 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #6,127 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2004 | #8,002 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2003 | #6,607 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #6,920 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #5,933 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #3,502 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1999 | #5,945 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #4,358 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1997 | #4,617 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1996 | #6,948 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #4,217 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1994 | #2,483 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 1993 | #1,926 | 43 | 0.0022% |
| 1992 | #2,245 | 34 | 0.0017% |
| 1991 | #1,856 | 43 | 0.0021% |
| 1990 | #2,847 | 23 | 0.0011% |
| 1989 | #3,572 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1988 | #3,485 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1987 | #3,038 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1986 | #3,394 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1985 | #3,544 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1984 | #3,061 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1983 | #6,025 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #3,439 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1981 | #4,075 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #6,038 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #4,002 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1978 | #3,552 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1977 | #3,329 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1976 | #3,924 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1975 | #2,424 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1974 | #2,434 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 1973 | #2,576 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1972 | #2,221 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1971 | #1,701 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1970 | #2,103 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1969 | #2,816 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1968 | #2,012 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1967 | #1,596 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1966 | #1,869 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1965 | #2,148 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1964 | #2,175 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1963 | #2,640 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1961 | #4,499 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1923 | #4,737 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1915 | #3,727 | 6 | 0.0007% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Parish Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a power of expression, either in speaking or writing. You are in favor for studying and research. You are clever, clear-sighted and intellectual. You don't like to let others know your true feelings. You might be atheistic or agnostic. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Parish's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Parish's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.