Parsifal as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Parsifal

What is the meaning of the name Parsifal ?

The baby name Parsifal is a Male name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced English: /ˈpɑːrsɪfæl/ (PAR-si-fal); German: /ˈparzɪfaːl/ (PAR-zi-fahl).

Parsifal is in Origin.

Parsifal is the Germanized form of the Arthurian hero Perceval, best known through Wolfram von Eschenbach’s 13th‑century epic Parzival and fixed in modern consciousness by Richard Wagner’s 1882 opera Parsifal. The name ultimately traces to Old French Perceval and likely to Welsh Peredur. Its etymology is debated: scholars favor a Celtic root akin to Peredur, interpreted as “hard/steel spear,” while the Old French folk parsing perce val (“pierce the valley”) is picturesque but linguistically shaky. Wagner’s association with “the pure fool, enlightened by compassion” is thematic rather than etymological.

Variants include Parzival (German), Perceval (Old French/medieval), Percival (English), Peredur (Welsh), and Parsifal in Italian and Spanish. Rare as a given name, it surfaces in Germany, Austria, and parts of Southern Europe and Latin America, often among music lovers or medievalists. Related diminutives like Percy derive from Percival rather than Parsifal. The name carries chivalric, mystical overtones.