Meaning & origin
What it means
Purdy is a form of Purdue. Purdue goes back to French pour, meaning “for.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Purdy is a form of Purdue. Purdue comes from Middle English, and ultimately from French.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1917. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Purdy through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 14
- 14 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 1918. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 8 in 1917. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 14,349 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Purdy’s family of names
In English usage, Purdy as a surname has a related form in Purdue.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Purdy, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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