Purdy as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Purdy

What is the meaning of the name Purdy ?

The baby name Purdy is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced PUR-dee (IPA: /ˈpɜːrdi/ UK, /ˈpɝdi/ US).

Purdy is English in Origin.

Purdy is a transferred-use given name from an English and Scots surname. The surname most likely derives from Anglo-Norman French par Dieu (“by God”), an oath that became a medieval nickname and then a hereditary name, recorded in Middle English as pardieu/purdeu. Spelling variants include Purdey, Purdie, and Purdee, with Purdie especially common in Scotland; Pardee is a related North American form. As a given name, Purdy is rare and generally considered unisex, though historically more common for boys.

The name appears in northern English and Lowland Scottish records from the late medieval period, spreading throughout the English-speaking world. In the 19th and 20th centuries it joined the broader trend of surnames adopted as first names. While modern ears may associate Purdy with the dialectal “purdy” meaning “pretty,” its authentic meaning is oath-based: “by God,” conveying a brisk, old-world charm rather than a descriptive epithet.