Perri
A surname most likely tied to a place-name meaning “stony place,” with possible Italian or French roots.
The #7,413 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 68,748 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is probably connected with a place-name built on a word for “stone” or “rock.” Harrison glosses French Du Perri as meaning “of the stony place,” deriving it from French perri and ultimately from Latin petra, “stone, rock.” In Italian usage, Perri can also fit the broader pattern of surnames formed from local or regional place-names.
History
The name appears in several Romance-language contexts, and the short form Perri may reflect a family name that originally pointed to someone from a rocky locality. In English-language records it is often encountered as an immigrant surname from Italy or southern Europe, where related forms can overlap in spelling and pronunciation. The historical sources supplied here do not give a full standalone entry for Perri, so the etymology should be treated as probable rather than certain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The root behind this surname ultimately goes back to Latin petra, the same ancient word family that gave English words like "petrous" and many place-names.
From the historical record
“suff. -y. 2 the French Perr^, Du Perri = Of the Stony Place [Fr. perri, a der. of perre, pierre, a stone, rock; Lat. petra]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)