Purcell Family History

English Welsh and Irish (of Norman origin): from Old French pourcel ‘little pig’ (from Latin porcellus a diminutive of porcus ‘pig’) hence a metonymic occupational name for a swineherd or a nickname perhaps denoting someone thought to resemble a pig. This surname is common in Ireland having become established there in the 12th century.

There may sometimes be confusion with Pearsall. English: habitational name from Purshull in Elmbridge Worcestershire. The placename derives from an uncertain first element + Old English hyll ‘hill’.