Purves

For the place, see Purves, Texas.

Purves is a surname of British origin, which is a variant of Purvis.^[1] It is an occupational surname, meaning the person responsible for obtaining supplies for a household or monastery, derived from the Middle English purveys (meaning "provisions" or "supplies"), from the Old French porveoir ("to provide, supply").^[2] Notable people with this surname include:

• Andrew Purves (born 1946), British theologian
• Austin M. Purves Jr. (1900–1977), American multi-media artist
• Barry Purves (born 1960), British animator and filmmaker
• Bill Purves (born 1870), Irish footballer
• Cec Purves (born 1933), Canadian politician
• Charlie Purves (1921–2013), English footballer
• Christopher Purves (born 1961), British opera singer
• Dale Purves (born 1938), American neuroscientist
• Daphne Purves (1908–2008), New Zealand educator
• David Purves (1924–2015), Scottish environmental scientist, playwright, poet and champion of the Scots language
• Della Purves (1945–2008), British botanical artist
• Edmund R. Purves (1897–1964), American architect
• Herbert Purves (1908–1993), New Zealand medical researcher
• James Purves (disambiguation)
• Jane Purves (1949–2013), Canadian politician
• Jodie Purves (born 1984), Australian sports administrator, coach and former cricketer
• John Purves (disambiguation)
• John-Clay Purves (1825–1903), British museum curator and geologist
• J. R. W. Purves (1903–1979), Australian lawyer and philatelist
• Laidlaw Purves (1842–1917), Scottish surgeon and golf advocate
• Libby Purves (born 1950), British journalist
• Margaret Purves (1934–2021), British recipient of the Albert Medal, later exchanged for the George Cross
• Peter Purves (born 1939), British television presenter and actor
• Ted Purves (born 1964), American artist
• William Purves (banker) (born 1931), British banker
• William Purves (rugby union) (fl. 1912–1913), Scottish rugby union player