2000
#4,165
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,880
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.92
Rare Last name
Prosser
An English occupational surname referring to a brass or bronze worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,779 Americans carry the last name Prosser. That puts it at #4,508 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,043 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prosser 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Prosser with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.8K
1 in 39,043
Census rank
#4,508
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,656 bearers of the surname Prosser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4508th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prosser, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prosser
The surname Prosser has its origins in the Welsh language and can be traced back to the region of Pembrokeshire in South West Wales. It is believed to have derived from the Old Welsh word 'proser', which means a maker or trader of brooches or ornamental clasps. This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have been skilled craftsmen or merchants dealing in such wares.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Prosser can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Proser' in the county of Gloucestershire, England. This entry likely refers to a person of Welsh descent who had settled in the area after the Norman Conquest.
During the Middle Ages, the name Prosser appeared in various records and manuscripts, often in its anglicized form of 'Proser' or 'Prosour'. In the 14th century, a certain William Proser was listed as a landowner in the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire.
In the 16th century, the spelling of the name evolved to its current form of 'Prosser'. One notable bearer of this surname was Richard Prosser, a Welsh politician and member of Parliament who lived from 1592 to 1670.
Over the centuries, the Prosser family spread throughout Britain and beyond. In the 18th century, Thomas Prosser (1732-1817) was a notable Welsh ironmaster and industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the iron industry in South Wales.
Another individual of note was Ralph Barnes Prosser (1829-1899), an English clergyman and author who served as the Dean of Coventry Cathedral. He was well-known for his writings on theology and church history.
In the literary world, the name Prosser is associated with the English novelist and playwright William Wymark Jacobs (1863-1943), whose full name was William Wymark Prosser Jacobs. He is best remembered for his humorous short stories, including the famous tale "The Monkey's Paw".
Lastly, a more recent figure with the surname Prosser is the American actress and model Amanda Prosser (born 1979), who has appeared in various television shows and films.
While the name Prosser may have evolved over time and spread across different regions, its roots can be traced back to the Welsh heritage and the skilled craftsmen who made ornamental clasps and brooches in ancient times.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prosser
Among Census respondents with the surname Prosser, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Prosser 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 Prosser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 6,623
- Black or African American5.7% · 438
- Two or more races4.1% · 315
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 36
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prosser
Prosser 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
#4,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,244
+364 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 2.79
Rank movement Down 147 places
2020
#4,508
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,656
-588 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 2.56
Rank movement Down 196 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,165 | 7,880 | 2.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,312 | 8,244 | 2.79 | +364 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 147 places |
| 2020 | #4,508 | 7,656 | 2.56 | -588 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 196 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 Prosser 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 | #4,312 | #4,508 | -4.5% |
| Count | 8,244 | 7,656 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.79 | 2.56 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prosser bearers went from 8,244 to 7,656 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 196 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,312 to #4,508.
FAQ
Prosser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prosser?
Name Census estimates that about 8,779 living Americans carry the surname Prosser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,043 residents.
How common is Prosser?
Prosser ranks #4,508 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,656 people with the surname Prosser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,779), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Prosser.
Has Prosser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prosser went from 8,244 recorded bearers to 7,656. That is a decrease of 588 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,312 to #4,508.
What does the Census say about the background of Prosser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prosser, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Prosser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (6,623 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prosser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.5%), Black (5.7%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Prosser (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 Prosser mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a brass or bronze worker. 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 Prosser (2.56 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 Prosser?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.