Find out how popular the last name Peprah is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Peprah.

Peprah, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Peprah surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Peprah in America

Peprah is the 82613th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Peprah surname appeared 228 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Peprah.

We can also compare 2010 data for Peprah to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Peprah

The surname Peprah originates from the Akan people of Ghana, West Africa. It first appeared in historical records around the 16th century during the era of the Ashanti Empire.

Peprah is derived from the Akan word "pra" which means "rock" or "stone." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a rocky area or worked as a stone mason or quarry worker.

Some of the earliest documented references to the Peprah name can be found in oral traditions and folktales passed down through generations of Akan storytellers. These stories often mentioned individuals with the surname, though exact dates are difficult to pinpoint.

One of the first written records of the Peprah name appears in a 1692 Dutch colonial document from the Gold Coast region of Ghana, which refers to a local chief named Kwame Peprah.

Over the centuries, various spellings of the name emerged including Pepprah, Prapra, and Pepraha. These variations likely stemmed from differences in spoken dialects and European attempts to transcribe the Akan name phonetically.

Notable individuals named Peprah throughout history include:

1. Nana Ama Peprah (c. 1740-1810) - Queen Mother of the Ashanti Empire known for her diplomatic skills.

2. Kofi Peprah (1820-1892) - Influential Akan linguist who helped translate many oral traditions into written form.

3. Yaa Peprah (1865-1945) - Renowned Ashanti potter whose ceramics are displayed in museums worldwide.

4. Joseph Peprah (1902-1978) - One of Ghana's first Western-educated lawyers and a leader in the independence movement.

5. Kwame Peprah (1934-2005) - Award-winning Ghanaian novelist and playwright who wrote extensively about Akan culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Peprah

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Peprah.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Peprah was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Peprah has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Peprah was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Peprah, please contact us.

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