Fun Facts About the Name Pervis
- 878 babies named Pervis: U.S. records list 878 babies given the name Pervis from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Pervis Mean?
Pervis is a masculine given name used mainly in the United States. It is an altered spelling of the surname Purvis, which also appears as Purves. That surname belongs to Scotland and northern England, and its most common explanation is occupational: from Old French porveir (later pourveir, modern French pourvoir), "to provide." It described a purveyor, an officer who procured food and supplies, often for a royal or noble household. As a surname it would have identified a person's trade or office, so the literal sense is "one who provides" or "provider of supplies."
A competing explanation treats the surname as habitational, taken from lands or a place called Purves in Scotland. The two derivations cannot be separated on the basis of the name's form alone, and the occupational sense of "purveyor" is the one most often attached to the name. The given name Pervis inherits its meaning from this surname; it has no separate etymology of its own.
Pervis Name History & Origins
The surname behind Pervis is recorded in Scotland and northern England in the medieval and early modern periods under spellings such as Purves, Purvis, and Purveys. As a first name, Pervis is a later development, created when an inherited surname was reused as a given name and respelled. The two spellings Pervis and Purvis are pronounced alike, the difference being only in how the unstressed vowel of the first syllable is written.
The given name is found in the United States, where surnames of British origin have often been taken as first names. It appears in the twentieth century, as in the name of the gospel and R&B singer Pervis Staples, a member of the Staple Singers, and in that of the basketball player Pervis Ellison.
How Popular is the Name Pervis?
Pervis 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 1965. Its best rank was #1,212 in 1892.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | #12,007 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #9,573 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #7,409 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1992 | #9,446 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #9,235 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1989 | #4,453 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1988 | #8,196 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #6,736 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #3,817 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1985 | #6,318 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #4,134 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1983 | #7,027 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #4,159 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #5,340 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1980 | #6,044 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #3,123 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1978 | #3,783 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1977 | #2,869 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1976 | #3,052 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1975 | #3,382 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1974 | #3,273 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1973 | #2,577 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1972 | #5,545 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #5,464 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #2,845 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1969 | #3,255 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1968 | #3,296 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #1,887 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1966 | #1,870 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1965 | #1,766 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1964 | #2,624 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1963 | #2,180 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1962 | #2,097 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1961 | #2,663 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1960 | #3,266 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1959 | #2,026 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1958 | #2,606 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1957 | #2,970 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1956 | #2,605 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1955 | #1,773 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1954 | #2,287 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1953 | #2,369 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1952 | #2,134 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1951 | #2,808 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1950 | #2,295 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1949 | #2,429 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1948 | #1,865 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1947 | #3,042 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1946 | #2,368 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1945 | #2,101 | 12 | 0.0009% |
| 1944 | #2,275 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1943 | #2,520 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1942 | #3,478 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #3,074 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1940 | #2,817 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1939 | #1,853 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1938 | #2,289 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1937 | #2,627 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1936 | #1,946 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1935 | #2,360 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1934 | #2,002 | 14 | 0.0014% |
| 1933 | #1,978 | 14 | 0.0014% |
| 1932 | #2,437 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1931 | #2,300 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1930 | #2,047 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1929 | #2,430 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1928 | #3,017 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1927 | #3,375 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1926 | #3,312 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1925 | #2,708 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1924 | #2,974 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1922 | #2,317 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1921 | #2,597 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1920 | #2,202 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1919 | #2,478 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1918 | #3,043 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1917 | #3,144 | 8 | 0.0009% |
| 1916 | #3,435 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1914 | #2,072 | 11 | 0.0017% |
| 1913 | #2,443 | 7 | 0.0014% |
| 1909 | #1,244 | 7 | 0.0043% |
| 1908 | #1,548 | 5 | 0.0032% |
| 1892 | #1,212 | 5 | 0.0041% |
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.
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with P
How the Name Pervis 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 have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
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.
✦ Pervis's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Pervis's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.