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

Prough, 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 Prough surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Prough in America

Prough is the 21371st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Prough surname appeared 1,225 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 Prough.

We can also compare 2010 data for Prough 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 Prough

The surname Prough originates from Germany and is believed to have first emerged in the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "pruche," which means "brook" or "stream." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a small body of water.

In its earliest recorded instances, the name was often spelled as "Pruche" or "Pruck." One of the first documented examples of this surname can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Hessen, Germany, from the late 1500s, where a family with the name "Pruche" is mentioned.

As the name spread across different regions of Germany, slight variations in spelling began to appear, such as "Prough" and "Prough." One notable individual with this surname was Hans Prough, a farmer from the village of Büdingen, who was born in 1623 and is recorded in local land records from the mid-17th century.

Another early bearer of the Prough name was Johann Prough, who was born in Kassel, Germany, in 1687. He is mentioned in a historical document from 1712, which details his involvement in a dispute over land ownership in the nearby town of Frankenberg.

In the 18th century, the Prough surname can be found in various records from the Rhineland region of Germany. A notable example is Christoph Prough, a vintner born in Mainz in 1732. He is mentioned in a local guild register from 1765, indicating his membership in the winemakers' guild.

As the name spread beyond Germany, it also appeared in parts of what is now Switzerland and France. One example is Pierre Prough, a French-Swiss watchmaker born in Geneva in 1789. He is recorded in watchmaking guild documents from the early 19th century.

Another prominent individual with the Prough surname was Wilhelm Prough, a German-born military officer who served in the Prussian Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1792 in Cologne, he is mentioned in various military records and dispatches from the early 19th century, detailing his involvement in several battles against the French.

While these are just a few examples, the Prough surname has a rich history that can be traced back to its German origins and the various regions where it was prevalent in the past. The name's connection to the word "brook" or "stream" adds an interesting linguistic and geographical context to its origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Prough

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

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

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

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