The English surname of Parrish comes from the Old French term ‘parish’, as in a religious location. Variations in spelling for Parrish include Pares, Parris, Parish and Paris. In England the Parrish surname is primarily in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Essex, the city of London, Surrey and Staffordshire. In Scotland there are very few individuals with the Parrish surname. The one main location for Parrish families is in Midlothian county. Within the United States the Parrish surname has the greatest population in the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Texas. It is also found along the west coast from Washington, Oregon to California. Famous: Hunter Parrish (actor), Lance Parrish (professional baseball player), Tony Parrish (professional football player), Maxfield Parrish (artist), Manuel J. ‘Man’ Parrish (music composer, producer and songwriter), Robert Parrish (movie film actor, writer and director), Sean Parrish (footballer from Wales) and John Parrish (professional baseball player).