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

Preer, 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 Preer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Preer in America

Preer is the 106096th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Preer surname appeared 168 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 Preer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Preer 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 Preer

The surname PREER is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the Old English word "preor," which means "priest" or "cleric." The name may have initially been used as a descriptive surname for someone who worked as a priest or had a connection to the clergy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PREER can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1195, where a certain William Preer is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already well-established in that region by the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the surname PREER appears in various legal documents and land records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire (1273), which mentions a John Preer. This indicates that the name had spread across different parts of England by that time.

A notable figure bearing the surname PREER was Sir Robert Preer (c. 1460 - 1535), a prominent English landowner and member of the gentry from Hertfordshire. He served as a Justice of the Peace and held significant influence in his local community.

During the 16th century, the name PREER can be found in parish records from various counties, including Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. One example is Thomas Preer (c. 1520 - 1596), who was a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of Norwich.

In the 17th century, the PREER surname was also present in the American colonies. One notable individual was William Preer (1628 - 1695), an early settler in Westmoreland County, Virginia, who arrived in the colony in the 1640s and became a successful landowner and planter.

While the surname PREER may have had variations in spelling over the centuries, such as Pryor, Prier, or Pryar, its origins can be traced back to the Old English word for "priest," reflecting the name's potential connection to the clergy in its early usage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Preer

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

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

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

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