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

Prahl, 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 Prahl surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Prahl in America

Prahl is the 17911th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Prahl surname appeared 1,561 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Prahl.

We can also compare 2010 data for Prahl 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 Prahl

The surname Prahl originated in Germany, and its earliest known recordings date back to the 16th century. Derived from the German word "prall," meaning "to bounce or rebound," the name was likely initially used as an occupational name for someone who worked in a profession that involved bouncing or rebounding objects.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Prahl can be found in the church records of Saxony, Germany, where a certain Johann Prahl was mentioned in 1532. Another early record from the same region mentions a Hans Prahl in 1589.

In the 17th century, the name began to spread across other parts of Germany, and a few notable individuals bearing this surname emerged. One such person was Christoph Prahl, a German composer and organist born in 1634 in Braunschweig, who was known for his contribution to the development of the North German organ school.

As the surname continued to evolve, it also saw variations in spelling, such as Prall, Prahll, and Prael. These variations were likely due to regional dialects and the lack of standardized spelling during those times.

In the 18th century, a notable Prahl was Johann Prahl, a German theologian and philosopher born in 1722 in Mecklenburg. He was known for his work on natural theology and his defense of the role of reason in religious belief.

The 19th century saw the surname spread further, with individuals bearing the name Prahl appearing in various parts of Europe and even in the United States. One such individual was Wilhelm Prahl, a German painter born in 1837 in Weimar, who was known for his landscapes and genre paintings.

Another notable figure from this period was Friedrich Prahl, a German-American businessman born in 1849 in Hanover. He immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and became a successful businessman in the brewing industry, establishing the Prahl Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In the 20th century, the Prahl surname continued to be found in various parts of the world, with individuals from this lineage making contributions in various fields. One such individual was Ernst Prahl, a German engineer and inventor born in 1901 in Berlin, who was known for his work on aircraft design and for holding several patents related to aerodynamics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Prahl

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

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 Prahl 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 Prahl 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 Prahl was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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