Pryor
A surname usually derived from the title of a priory head, essentially meaning “the prior.”
The #1,263 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 11,104 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pryor is a spelling variant of Prior, from Anglo-Norman and Middle English prior, the title of the head of a priory. The word ultimately goes back to Latin prior, meaning “earlier” or “former,” later used as an ecclesiastical rank. In surname form, it most likely began as an occupational or status name for someone connected with a priory or for a person known by that title.
History
English records show Prior and Pryor used side by side, with Pryor reflecting a later spelling form. The name also appears in Ireland and other English-speaking regions, sometimes as an anglicized spelling of the same source name. In the United States, Pryor has become the more familiar modern spelling in some families, though it is historically a variant of Prior.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname dictionaries often listed Pryor simply as “see Prior,” treating it as a straightforward spelling variant rather than a separate origin.
From the historical record
“PRYOR J V. Prior. PRYM PRYME PRYKE (EngO a diphthongized form oi Prick, a term of endearment, also the name of a”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Pryor
- Richard Pryor (1940–2005)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.