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

Pruse, 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 Pruse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pruse in America

Pruse is the 146201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pruse surname appeared 113 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 Pruse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pruse 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 Pruse

The surname Pruse originated in Central Europe, specifically in the areas that are now modern-day Germany and Poland. It is believed to have emerged in the early medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old Prussian word "pruse," meaning "Prussian."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pruse appears in a 13th-century manuscript from the city of Gdańsk, located in what is now northern Poland. This document refers to a landowner named Hans Pruse, who owned a sizable estate in the region. The name is also found in various medieval records from the Teutonic Order, a Catholic military order that played a significant role in the Christianization of Prussia and the surrounding areas.

During the Middle Ages, the Pruse family was prominent in several towns and cities across what is now northern Germany and western Poland. Notably, the name appears in records from the city of Lübeck, a major trading center in the Hanseatic League, as well as in documents from the city of Rostock, located in the present-day German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

In the 15th century, a prominent figure named Heinrich Pruse (c. 1420-1485) was a renowned scholar and theologian at the University of Leipzig. He was known for his works on canon law and his involvement in the reform movements within the Catholic Church during the late medieval period.

Another notable individual with the surname Pruse was Matthias Pruse (1546-1612), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector of Brandenburg. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of Protestant church music during the Reformation era.

In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Pruse (1718-1788) was a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics. He held positions at various universities and academies, including the University of Leipzig and the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin.

The Pruse family continued to maintain a presence in various parts of Germany and Poland throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, records from this period are often scarce due to the upheavals and conflicts that affected the region during this time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pruse

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

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

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

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