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

Prange, 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 Prange surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Prange in America

Prange is the 14681st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Prange surname appeared 2,026 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 Prange.

We can also compare 2010 data for Prange 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 Prange

The surname Prange is of German origin, and it is believed to have originated in the 16th century. The name is derived from the German word "Prang," which means "display" or "parade." It is thought to have been a descriptive surname given to someone who lived near a place where parades or displays were held.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Prange can be found in various German records and manuscripts from the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest known references to the name is in the Heidelberg Church Records from 1585, which mentions a person named Hans Prange.

In the 17th century, the name Prange appeared in various other German regions, including Saxony and Prussia. The surname was also associated with the town of Prangen, which is located in the region of Pomerania, now part of modern-day Poland. This suggests that the name may have originated in this area and then spread to other parts of Germany.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Prange surname became more widespread throughout Germany and other parts of Europe. Notable individuals with this surname include Johann Prange (1625-1708), a German composer and organist, and Otto Prange (1800-1875), a German educator and writer.

In the 20th century, several individuals with the Prange surname achieved recognition in various fields. One prominent figure was Gordon W. Prange (1910-1980), an American historian and author who wrote extensively about the Pacific Theater during World War II. Another notable individual was Arthur Prange (1910-1987), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in the Los Angeles area.

Other individuals with the Prange surname who achieved recognition include Johann Georg Prange (1887-1942), a German theologian and pastor, and Rudi Prange (1932-2020), a German actor and director.

While the Prange surname originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to immigration and migration patterns.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Prange

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

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

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

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