Parr
A surname with several possible origins, most often from a place-name in Lancashire or from a form of Peter.
The #2,239 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,958 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Parr is an English surname with more than one plausible source. In some cases it may be locational, from the manor and township of Parr in Lancashire. Other examples may come from a pet form of Peter, via French Pierre or Pierrot, or perhaps from a word for an enclosure or stock-pen in older English dialect use. Because different families may have different origins, the surname is best treated as having mixed and uncertain derivation overall.
History
The name is well attested in English records by the late medieval period, especially in Lancashire and nearby counties. Nineteenth-century writers debated whether the surname was mainly local in origin or whether some lines came from the French personal name Peter. The existence of a place called Parr made the local explanation especially attractive to genealogists with Lancashire roots.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Dr. Samuel Parr, the famous English schoolmaster and writer, helped make the surname widely recognizable in later literary and historical references.
From the historical record
“the spot is not identified] PARR (Engj) Bel. to Parr; or Dweller at a Stock-Enclosure [M.E. par{r, (East. Dial. E., an animal-pen), O.E. pegrr-, an enclosure] The Lane, place was Parre A.D. 1298, i'ar A.D.I 307. (A.-Fr.-Gr.) an Anglicized form of the French P^e, Pierre = Peter, q.v. PARRAM for Parham, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)