2000
#13,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,069
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Prange
A German toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "brook" or "stream."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,185 Americans carry the last name Prange. That puts it at #14,912 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 156,867 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prange surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 156,867
Census rank
#14,912
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,905 bearers of the surname Prange in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14912th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prange, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prange
Among Census respondents with the surname Prange, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Prange bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Prange surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 1,791
- Two or more races2.8% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prange
Prange appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,681
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,026
-43 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 1,198 places
2020
#14,912
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,905
-121 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 231 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,483 | 2,069 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,681 | 2,026 | 0.69 | -43 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 1,198 places |
| 2020 | #14,912 | 1,905 | 0.64 | -121 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 231 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Prange surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,681 | #14,912 | -1.6% |
| Count | 2,026 | 1,905 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.64 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prange bearers went from 2,026 to 1,905 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 231 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,681 to #14,912.
FAQ
Prange surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prange?
Name Census estimates that about 2,185 living Americans carry the surname Prange. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 156,867 residents.
How common is Prange?
Prange ranks #14,912 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,905 people with the surname Prange. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,185), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Prange.
Has Prange become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prange went from 2,026 recorded bearers to 1,905. That is a decrease of 121 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,681 to #14,912.
What does the Census say about the background of Prange?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prange, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Prange in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (1,791 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prange appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Prange (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Prange mean?
A German toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "brook" or "stream." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Prange (0.64 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Prange?
Want to know how common the surname Prange is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.