Parnell

P3A1R1N1E1L1L1
/pɑːˈnɛl/

proper noun

A surname from the given name Petronella. (see Etymology)

Less commonScrabble 9

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Purnell

  1. A surname from the given name Petronella. (see Etymology)
  2. rareA male given name transferred from the surname.
    1 more example

    They had called him Parnell to show how Irish he was. At school they called him Parny, so that was it. Anyway Katy and Shane Quinn could always explain it to anyone who mattered that his real name was Parnell, like the great leader. It was just as well nobody asked them too much about the great leader. They were somewhat hazy about what he was leading and when and why.

    1996, Maeve Binchy, This Year It Will Be Different: A Christmas Treasury, Hachette UK, published 2008, →ISBN
  3. A number of places in the United States:
    1. A minor city in Iowa County, Iowa.

Origin

Matronymic from a medieval spoken form of Petronella.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Parnell

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

Parnell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parnell

MLA

“Parnell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parnell. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Parnell,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parnell.

Source: Parnell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.