Prosser is an English-language

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

, derived from a Welsh-language

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

Origin

The

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

surname ''Prosser'' is considered to be a

Welsh surname Fixed surnames were adopted in Wales from the 15th century onwards. Until then, the Welsh had a patronymic naming system. History In 1292, 48 per cent of Welsh names were patronymics and, in some parishes, over 70 per cent. Other names were der ...

. The name originated as an

Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of the

Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has als ...

''ap Rhosier'', or ''ap Rosser'',. both meaning ''son of Roger''. The English-language personal name ''

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

'' is derived from the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

personal name ''Roger'', ''Rogier''. This

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

is of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ''hrōd'' ("fame") and ''gār'', ''gēr'' ("spear"). The Old French name was adopted by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

, and was introduced into Britain by them in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

(replacing the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

''Hrōðgār''). The name became one of the most popular masculine names in the Middle Ages, and lost popularity afterwards.. Until the Tudor period Welsh names generally took the format X son of Y, or X daughter of Y. The Old Welsh word for son was ''map'', but it

lenited In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them more sonorous. The word ''lenition'' itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronically (within a language at a pa ...

to ''fap'' (today ''fab''), then '' ap''. Although some of the Welsh gentry began to adopt the English fashion for hereditary surnames even before the Act of Union between England and Wales in 1536, in general the Act marked the beginning of a gradual shift towards hereditary surnames in Wales that was not complete until the 18th century. In some cases ''ap'' was merged into the following personal name to create an hereditary name. So ''Ap Richard'' became Pritchard, ''ap Even'' became Bevan and ''ap Hugh'' emerged as Pugh. The shift from ''ap Rosser'' to Prosser is of this pattern, though the surname Rosser also occurs. The distribution of Prosser and Rosser in 1842-46 was strongly centred in south-east Wales, and largely absent from other parts of Wales. Early examples of the surname include: * 1529 Richard ap Rosser was a party to two deeds relating to 'a mansion place called the Van' in Senghenydd. * 1556 Morgan Lewis ap Rosser was a party to a grant of land in Llywell, Co. Brecon.

Name distribution

There are various sources for

surname maps Surname maps are maps which display and indicate the highest concentration of residents with a particular surname, or set of surnames. This information can be useful for studying the current or historic distribution of surnames, and occasionally ...

charting the geographic distribution of surnames.

England and Wales

Ancestry.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

's distribution map, based on their data from the 1891 England and Wales Census, shows Prossers were strongly present in southeast Wales and the western counties of England. Particularly high concentrations were in the Welsh historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire and the English county of Herefordshire.

Germany

German Prossers are primarily found in southern Germany.

Italy

The Italian ''Gens'' Project shows there are a small number of Prossers living in Italy. Their distribution map results show that the Prossers are concentrated in the northernmost province, Alto Adige/Südtirol.

United States

Current distribution maps from the ''Gens'' Project in the United States based on the 2000 US census demonstrate that the name is most common in eight states: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, while still numbering less than a thousand individuals in each of those states. Ancestry.com has a surname map for the name's distribution according to the United States Census for 1920. At that time, the name Prosser was most common in six states: California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, with a total of 93–183 Prosser households in each state. Using data based on 142 Prosser immigrants to New York, the vast majority departed from Great Britain, while 11 are from Ireland and 21 from Germany.Ancestry.co
top places of origin for the name Prosser
(retrieved 2011-10-12)

Notable people with the surname Prosser

Anna Weed Prosser Anna Weed Prosser (October 15, 1846 – December 20, 1902) was an American evangelist. An invalid for many years, she believed her recovery due to prayer, and immediately entered upon her evangelical work in gratitude for her restored health. She ...

(1846–1902), American evangelist; daughter of Erastus S. Prosser * Beverly Prosser Gelwick (1932–2023), American psychologist * Bob Prosser, Welsh rugby union and rugby league player in the 1960s and 1970s *

Dai Prosser David "Dai" Rees Prosser (13 October 1912 – 6 May 1973) was a Welsh List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s, and coach (sport), co ...

(1912–1973), Welsh rugby union and rugby league player * David Prosser (bishop) (1868–1950), Welsh bishop, Archbishop of Wales 1944–49 * David Prosser Jr. (born 1942), American jurist and politician, former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court *

Erastus S. Prosser Erastus Sabinus Prosser (September 2, 1809 – May 11, 1888) was an American politician from New York. Early life Prosser was born on September 2, 1809, in the area which was separated as the Town of Westerlo, Albany County, New York in 1815. His ...

(1809–1887), American politician from New York *

Gabriel Prosser Gabriel ( – October 10, 1800), referred to by some as Gabriel Prosser, the surname of his slaveholder, was a man of African descent born in Virginia, and a blacksmith enslaved by the Prosser family who planned a large slave rebellion in the Ri ...

(1776–1800), rebel slave in 1800 Virginia *

Geoff Prosser Geoffrey Daniel Prosser (born 6 November 1948) is an Australian businessman and former politician. He served in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the Liberal Party of Australia, L ...

(born 1948), Australian politician * George Henry Prosser (1867–1941), Australian businessman and politician *

Glyn Prosser Glyn Prosser (27 November 1907 – 13 November 1972) was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played club rugby for Neath, and was capped four times for Wales. An aggressive wing forward, Prosser is best known for being a member of the ...

(1907–1972), Welsh international rugby player *

Gwyn Prosser Gwynfor Matthews Prosser (born 27 April 1943) is a British politician and engineer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover from 1997 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he worked as a marine engineer and served on Dover District ...

(born 1943), British politician * Halley H. Prosser (1870–1921), American politician from Michigan *

Hugh Prosser Hugh Prosser (March 2, 1907 – November 8, 1952) was a Hollywood actor who appeared in over 90 films between 1936 and 1953. A native of Illinois, Prosser was a versatile supporting performer particularly adept at playing unscrupulous villain ...

(1900–1952), American film actor *

Ian Prosser Sir Ian Maurice Gray Prosser (born 5 July 1943) is a British businessman. Prosser was born in Bath, England and educated at King Edward's School, Bath, Watford Grammar School for Boys and Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through effort ...

(born 1943), British businessman * Ian Prosser (florist) (born 1957), Scottish born American florist *

Inez Beverly Prosser Inez Beverly Prosser (c. 1895 - September 5, 1934) was a psychologist, teacher and school administrator. She is often regarded as the first African-American female to receive a Ph.D in psychology. Her work was very influential in the hallmark '' ...

(1897–1934), American teacher and school administrator *

Joseph Prosser Joseph Prosser VC (1828 – 10 June 1867) was an Irish soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Military career Prosser was ...

(1828–1867), Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross *

Julien Prosser Julien Prosser (born 11 June 1972 in Bunbury, Western Australia) is a male beach volleyball player who represented Australia in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996. Australia's most successful player ever, Three Olympic Games – ...

(born 1972), Australian beach volleyball player * Keith Prosser, (1897–1954), Bishop of Burnley * Luke Prosser (born 1988), English footballer *

Margaret Prosser, Baroness Prosser Margaret Theresa Prosser, Baroness Prosser, (born 22 August 1937) is a Labour life peer and former trade unionist. Prosser was born on 22 August 1937 in Tooting, London, the daughter of Frederick James and Lillian (née Barry) Prosser. She wa ...

(born 1937), British peer and politician * Mrs. Prosser (1807–1882), British sentimental Victorian author * Patrick Prosser (born 1952), Scottish computer scientist *

Ray Prosser Thomas Raymond Prosser (2 March 1927 – 22 November 2020) was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Pontypool and was capped 22 times for Wales. Prosser also represented the British Lions in their 1959 tour of A ...

(1927–2020), Welsh rugby player with Pontypool * Richard Prosser (priest) (1748–1839), English priest * Richard Bissell Prosser (1838–1918), English patent examiner and biographical writer *

Richard Prosser Richard Ivor Prosser (15 January 1967 – 10 June 2022) was a New Zealand politician, writer, and winemaker. He was a member of New Zealand First party and was a Member of parliament from 2011 to 2017. While in Parliament, he voted against th ...

(born 1967), New Zealand politician * Roy Prosser (1942–2008), Australian Rugby Union player *

Seward Prosser Seward Prosser (March 1, 1871 – October 1, 1942) was an American banker and philanthropist who served as the head of Bankers Trust. Early life Prosser was born in Buffalo, New York on March 1, 1871. He was a son of Henry Wilbur Prosser and Anna ...

(1871–1942), American banker and philanthropist *

Skip Prosser George Edward "Skip" Prosser (November 3, 1950 – July 26, 2007) was an American college basketball coach who was head men's basketball coach at Wake Forest University at the time of his death. He was the only coach in NCAA history to take three s ...

(1950–2007), American college basketball coach *

Stuart Prosser William Stuart Prosser (1887 – 12 March 1939) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Pontypool RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for G ...

(1887–1939), Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer *

William Prosser, Lord Prosser William David Prosser, Lord Prosser QC LLB PC (1934–2015) was a Scottish judge and an advocate for the arts in Edinburgh. Personal life and education He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy where he was a senior Ephor (prefect). Prosser read ...

(1934–2015), Scottish judge *

William Farrand Prosser William Farrand Prosser (March 16, 1834 – September 23, 1911) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives representing Tennessee, and was a Union Colonel in the American Civil War. Early years Prosser w ...

(1834–1911), American politician * William Henry Prosser (1870–1952), Welsh cricketer *

William Lloyd Prosser William Lloyd Prosser (March 15, 1898 – 1972) was the Dean of the School of Law at UC Berkeley from 1948 to 1961. Prosser authored several editions of ''Prosser on Torts'', universally recognized as the leading work on the subject of tort law ...

(1898–1972), American legal scholar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prosser (Name) Surnames of Welsh origin Anglicised Welsh-language surnames Patronymic surnames Surnames from given names