2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Prittie
A surname derived from a nickname applied to a small, dainty person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Prittie. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prittie 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Prittie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prittie, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prittie
The surname Prittie is of English origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "pryt" or "prytt," meaning "pretty" or "handsome." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname for someone considered attractive or well-favored in appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Prittie surname can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex, England, from 1524, which mentions a John Prytty. The name also appears in various parish records and documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, with variations in spelling such as Prittie, Pritty, and Prytte.
In the late 16th century, the Prittie family was known to have connections to the county of Gloucestershire. A notable figure from this era was Sir Francis Prittie, a Member of Parliament who lived from 1589 to 1677. He served as the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1636 and played a significant role in local politics during the English Civil War.
The Prittie surname also has ties to Ireland, where it is believed to have been introduced by English settlers. One of the most prominent figures with this name was Sir Henry Prittie, 1st Baron Dunalley (1746-1828). He was an Irish politician and landowner who served as a Member of the Irish Parliament and later as a representative peer in the British House of Lords after the Acts of Union in 1801.
Another notable figure was Sir Francis Prittie, 2nd Baron Dunalley (1778-1853), who succeeded his father as Baron Dunalley and held various military and political positions in Ireland. He served as a Colonel in the British Army and was a Member of the British House of Commons.
The Prittie family continued to have a significant presence in Ireland throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. One example is Henry Prittie, 4th Baron Dunalley (1846-1925), who was a British Army officer and served as the Lord Lieutenant of County Tipperary from 1890 to 1909.
While the surname Prittie is not among the most common in English-speaking countries today, it has a rich history and can be traced back to its English roots in the 16th century, with connections to both England and Ireland over the subsequent centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prittie
Among Census respondents with the surname Prittie, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Prittie 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 Prittie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prittie
Prittie 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+6 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,324 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-17 bearers (-14.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,130 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 3,324 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -17 bearers (-14.4%) | Down 14,130 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 Prittie 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 | #141,140 | #155,270 | -10.0% |
| Count | 118 | 101 | -14.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prittie bearers went from 118 to 101 (-14.4% change). The surname moved down 14,130 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #155,270.
FAQ
Prittie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prittie?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Prittie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Prittie?
Prittie ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Prittie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Prittie.
Has Prittie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prittie went from 118 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 17 (-14.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Prittie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prittie, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Prittie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prittie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.0%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Prittie (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 Prittie mean?
A surname derived from a nickname applied to a small, dainty person. 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 Prittie (0.03 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 common is the surname Prittie?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Prittie is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.