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

Prophet, 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 Prophet surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Prophet in America

Prophet is the 15938th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Prophet surname appeared 1,823 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 Prophet.

We can also compare 2010 data for Prophet 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 Prophet

The surname Prophet is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "profete" and ultimately from the Latin "propheta," meaning "prophet" or "foreteller." This name was likely initially given as a nickname to someone who was considered to have prophetic abilities or who may have been a preacher or religious figure.

The earliest recorded instances of the Prophet surname can be traced back to the late 12th century in England. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was William le Prophete, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1195. Another early record is of a John le Prophete, found in the Feet of Fines records for Essex in 1239.

In the 13th century, the Prophet surname appeared in various forms, such as Prophete, Profete, and Proffit, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation at the time. Some of these early bearers of the name were likely associated with religious institutions or monasteries, as the name was often used to denote a person's occupation or role.

One notable individual with the Prophet surname was John Prophet, a 16th-century English churchman and writer. He was born in Somerset around 1520 and served as the Dean of Windsor from 1560 until his death in 1589. Another significant figure was William Prophet, a 17th-century English mathematician and astronomer born in 1599 in Oxfordshire. He made contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and published several works on astronomy.

In the 18th century, the surname Prophet gained prominence in the United States, where it was borne by several notable individuals. One such person was Abner Prophet, a soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Kentucky. Another was Nathaniel Prophet, a Baptist minister and educator who founded the Prophet's Town Seminary in Indiana in the early 19th century.

During the 19th century, the Prophet surname was also found in various parts of the United Kingdom, particularly in areas such as Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire. One notable bearer of the name was Edwin Prophet, an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the mid-19th century.

Over the centuries, the Prophet surname has been associated with various occupations and professions, including religious figures, scholars, mathematicians, and sportsmen. While it may have originated as a nickname, the name has endured and continues to be used in various parts of the world today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Prophet

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

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

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

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