Percival

/ˈpɜː(ɹ)sɪvəl/

//ˈpɜː(ɹ)sɪvəl// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"percival" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Percival” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,532. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,532
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male given name from the Celtic languages.

Corpus desk

Index EN-percival · Percival · English

Percival · rank #32,532 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,532
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pectoral

Nearest frequency peer: pectoral (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Percival”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Percival” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Percival
PropertyValue
HeadwordPercival
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈpɜː(ɹ)sɪvəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#32,532
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Percival”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Percivallands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “pectoral” (#32,531), “perplexing” (#32,533), “patting” (#32,530). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “Percival” is #32,532. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around Percival (IPA /ˈpɜː(ɹ)sɪvəl/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #32,532 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Percival, with forms such as "eprcival", "pecrival", and "perccival". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French Perceval, name of a knight in a twelfth century Arthurian romance by the French poet Chrétien de Troyes. Shaped like Old French percier (“pierce”) + val (“valley”), but probably representing some Gaulish or Old Welsh name, possibly related t… The correct English form is Percival, spelled P-E-R-C-I-V-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male given name from the Celtic languages.
  2. 2
    A surname originating as a patronymic.
  3. 3
    An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fremont County, Iowa, United States.
  4. 4
    A former hamlet in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Percival appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Lancelot Fortescue! What a name! And what was the other son - Percival? He wondered what the first Mrs Fortescue had been like? She had a curious taste in Christian names...

Etymology

From Old French Perceval, name of a knight in a twelfth century Arthurian romance by the French poet Chrétien de Troyes. Shaped like Old French percier (“pierce”) + val (“valley”), but probably representing some Gaulish or Old Welsh name, possibly related to Welsh Peredur, from ber (“spear, lance”) (from Middle Welsh ber, from Proto-Brythonic *ber, from Proto-Celtic *beru (“spit”)) + dur (“hard metal, steel”) (see Latin durus). Cognate with German Parzival and Parsifal.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eprcival
  • pecrival
  • perccival
  • perciavl
  • percivall
  • percivla
  • percivval
  • percvial
  • pericval
  • perrcival
  • ppercival
  • precival

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Percival - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eprcival2pecrival2perccival1perciavl2percivall1percivla2percivval1percvial2
Edit distance from "Percival"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Percival"?
"Percival" is spelled P-E-R-C-I-V-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɜː(ɹ)sɪvəl/.
What does "Percival" mean?
As a proper noun, "Percival" means: A male given name from the Celtic languages.
What are common misspellings of "Percival"?
Common misspellings include "eprcival", "pecrival", "perccival", "perciavl", "percivall". The correct spelling is "Percival".
How do you pronounce "Percival"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Percival" is /ˈpɜː(ɹ)sɪvəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Percival"?
From Old French Perceval, name of a knight in a twelfth century Arthurian romance by the French poet Chrétien de Troyes. Shaped like Old French percier (“pierce”) + val (“valley”), but probably representing some Gaulish or Old Welsh name, possibly... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Percival", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pectoral#32,531Polaroid#32,538organist#32,525ordinate#32,524

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

primrose12 variantspsyched12 variantsrelaunch12 variantslopsided12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list