Popularity:
The name Percy ranked 465th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.
Though this name has fluctuated in use, it has been quietly present throughout the last century.
Narrative:
The source name, Persius, was a Latin version of a name used among the ancient Gauls whose meaning has been lost.
Some authorities dispute that the meaning is unknown, and believe Persius to be derived from the Old French phrase percer haie (''to penetrate the hedge,'' possibly a reference to an effective hunter). If this is so, Persius may have developed on the continent as a Latinized version of the name, used for official documents such as birth records.
Whichever case is true, Persius is believed to be the source of the British aristocratic surname Percy, which in time came to be used as a personal name.