Explore the Family Name Purser

The meaning of Purser

English: occupational name from Middle English purser(e), purcere, porser(e) ‘purser, purse-bearer, treasurer’ but sometimes also meaning ‘maker of purses or bags’.

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

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

The surname Purser has seen a slight decrease in popularity over the decade from 2000 to 2010, as indicated by the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, Purser was ranked as the 8879th most popular surname with approximately 3390 bearers for every 100,000 people. By 2010, however, the surname had dropped slightly to the 9199th position with a marginal decrease of 3.6% in its rank and a proportion per 100,000 people of 1.2. Nevertheless, the total count of individuals carrying the surname Purser increased by around 4.57% during this period.

20002010Change
Rank#8,879#9,199-3.6%
Count3,3903,5454.57%
Proportion per 100k1.261.2-4.76%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Purser

The Decennial U.S. Census also provides insights into the ethnic identities associated with the surname Purser. In 2000, about 93.57% of those bearing this surname identified as White, decreasing slightly to 91.62% in 2010. The proportions of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaskan Native also experienced shifts. The percentage of individuals identifying as Hispanic or Black saw significant increases of 48.06% and 52.31% respectively, albeit from a low base. The proportion identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander grew by 21.87%, while the share of those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native modestly increased by 10.57%. Those identifying with two or more races also increased from 1.12% to 1.44%.

20002010Change
White93.57%91.62%-2.08%
Hispanic2.06%3.05%48.06%
American Indian and Alaskan Native2.27%2.51%10.57%
Two or More Races1.12%1.44%28.57%
Black0.65%0.99%52.31%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.32%0.39%21.87%

Purser ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Purser is British & Irish, which comprises 65.7% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (16.8%) and Eastern European (4.1%). Additional ancestries include Spanish & Portuguese, Scandinavian, Italian, Indigenous American, and Ashkenazi Jewish.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish65.7%
French & German16.8%
Eastern European4.1%
Other13.5%
Purser

Possible origins of the surname Purser

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Purser have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Kent, United Kingdom94.30%
County Durham, United Kingdom90.80%
Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom88.50%
Essex, United Kingdom88.50%
Cumbria, United Kingdom88.50%

What Purser haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Purser is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Purser surname are: H1, N, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

purserPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Purser have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Purser

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Purser" Surname 48.3%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Purser

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Purser" Surname 36.7%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Purser

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Purser" Surname 26.8%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Purser

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Purser" Surname 21.4%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Purser?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Purser are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%