Explore the Family Name Perrier

The meaning of Perrier

1. French: occupational name for a quarryman or stone breaker, from Old French perrier, an agent derivative of pierre ‘stone, rock’. 2. French: habitational name from (Le) Perrier, the name of several places in various parts of France. 3. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, from Middle English perie ‘pear tree’ + the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant. 4. English (of Norman origin): occupational name, either from Old French perrier, perrieur ‘quarrier, stone breaker’ (compare 1 above) or, given the implied high social status of some of the early English bearers, from an agent derivative of Old French and Middle English perri, pirri ‘precious stone’, hence ‘jeweler’. History: Jean Perrier dit Lafleur from Pau in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, married Marie Daire in Quebec City, QC, in 1669. Laurent Perrier dit Olivier from Brest in Finistère, Brittany (France), married Marie Bessette in QC in 1690. Some characteristic forenames: French Armand, Alain, Antoine, Pierre, Adelard, Emanuelle, Jacques, Laurent, Lucien, Octavie, Serge.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Perrier in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Perrier has seen an upward trend between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 22,011th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had moved up to 21,320th place, indicating a positive change of 3.14%. The count of people with this surname also increased from 1,098 in 2000 to 1,229 in 2010, marking an impressive growth of 11.93%. Consequently, the proportion of individuals with the Perrier surname per 100k people slightly rose from 0.41 to 0.42.

20002010Change
Rank#22,011#21,3203.14%
Count1,0981,22911.93%
Proportion per 100k0.410.422.44%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Perrier

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some significant shifts among those with the Perrier surname. The percentage of Asian/Pacific Islander and those identifying with two or more races decreased by 40.37% and 7.56% respectively, while the percentage of White individuals dropped by approximately 9.15%. Meanwhile, there was a surge in the number of Hispanic individuals (by 49.21%) and Black individuals (by 45.61%), signifying a notable increase in diversity within this surname group. The count of American Indian and Alaskan Native also saw a slight decrease of 13.17%.

20002010Change
White75.41%68.51%-9.15%
Black15.48%22.54%45.61%
Hispanic1.91%2.85%49.21%
American Indian and Alaskan Native3.19%2.77%-13.17%
Two or More Races2.91%2.69%-7.56%
Asian/Pacific Islander1.09%0.65%-40.37%