2000
#2,129
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,631
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.79
Uncommon Last name
Prather
An occupational surname for a priest or someone who worked in a monastery or church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,269 Americans carry the last name Prather. That puts it at #2,362 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,848 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prather 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
17K
1 in 19,848
Census rank
#2,362
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,059 bearers of the surname Prather in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2362nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prather, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prather
The surname Prather is believed to have originated in England, and it is thought to be derived from the Old English word "prætere," which means "trickster" or "deceiver." This suggests that the name may have been given as a nickname to someone who was known for their cunning or deceptive behavior.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 13th century, with references found in various historical documents such as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name was Walter le Prater, who was mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1285.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings, including Prater, Prateur, and Praytour, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling of the time. One notable example is John Praytour, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1379.
Throughout history, the Prather surname has been associated with various locations and place names. For instance, in the 16th century, there were references to individuals with the surname living in the village of Prater's Hay in Shropshire, suggesting a possible connection between the surname and this particular location.
Several notable individuals have borne the Prather surname over the centuries. One of the earliest was John Prather, who was born in England around 1615 and later immigrated to Virginia in the 17th century, becoming one of the earliest settlers of the colony.
Another prominent figure was Henry Prather, a soldier and landowner who was born in Virginia in 1716. He served in the French and Indian War and later became a wealthy landowner, acquiring vast tracts of land in Kentucky.
In the 19th century, Richard Henry Prather, born in 1837, was a prominent American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Ohio Supreme Court and was later appointed as the United States Ambassador to Mexico.
Reverend Nathaniel Prather, born in 1795, was a Baptist minister and educator who played a significant role in establishing several schools and churches in Kentucky and Indiana during the early 19th century.
Finally, one of the more recent notable individuals with the Prather surname was Richard S. Prather, an American author born in 1921, best known for his popular Shell Scott mystery novel series featuring a private detective protagonist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prather
Among Census respondents with the surname Prather, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Prather 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 Prather surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.0% · 10,987
- Black or African American18.2% · 2,748
- Two or more races4.6% · 696
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 463
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 63
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prather
Prather 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
#2,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,860
+229 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 5.38
Rank movement Down 169 places
2020
#2,362
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,059
-801 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 5.04
Rank movement Down 64 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,129 | 15,631 | 5.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,298 | 15,860 | 5.38 | +229 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 169 places |
| 2020 | #2,362 | 15,059 | 5.04 | -801 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 64 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 Prather 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 | #2,298 | #2,362 | -2.8% |
| Count | 15,860 | 15,059 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.38 | 5.04 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prather bearers went from 15,860 to 15,059 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 64 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,298 to #2,362.
FAQ
Prather surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prather?
Name Census estimates that about 17,269 living Americans carry the surname Prather. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,848 residents.
How common is Prather?
Prather ranks #2,362 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,059 people with the surname Prather. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,269), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Prather.
Has Prather become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prather went from 15,860 recorded bearers to 15,059. That is a decrease of 801 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,298 to #2,362.
What does the Census say about the background of Prather?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prather, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Prather in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.0% (10,987 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prather appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.0%), Black (18.2%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Prather (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 Prather mean?
An occupational surname for a priest or someone who worked in a monastery or church. 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 Prather (5.04 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 Americans have the surname Prather?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.