Prang History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

Etymology of Prang

What does the name Prang mean?

The Boernician-Scottish Prang family lived in a place near Stow Roxburghshire, called Hopringle or Pringle. As such, Prang is a habitation name, a category of surnames that were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The place name comes from the Old English word hop which referred to an "enclosed valley," and Prjónn, an Old Norse name comprised of components which mean peg and ravine. Thus, the original bearer of the surname came from an area noted for an enclosed valley or a ravine.

However some sources presume the name to be derived from "pilgrim," as "they bear in their arms the escallop shells or badges of pilgrims to the Holy Land." 1 2

Prang Coat of Arms Creation

In the works of Sir George Mackenzie, Vol. II., p. 611, it is said that Pringle of Galashiels had five golden escallops (the bi-valve scallop) in his shield, and this shell was usually worn by those who were pilgrims. Nisbet's Heraldry, published in Edinburgh in 1722, says that the first ancestor of the Pringles is said to be Pelerin, a famous pilgrim to the Holy Land, who came to Scotland, and his descendants were first called Pilgrims, and afterwards, by corruption, Pringle.

The oldest family of the name is " Hop Pringle of that ilk," whose crest was a scallop, and the motto, " Amicitia reddit honores " (Friendship gives honours). King David Bruce gave the lands belonging to Walter de Pringle, forfeited, to William Pitilock Miles.

One branch of the Pringles had as crest a man's heart with wings; motto, " Sursum (Upward). Another, an anchor within a garland of bay leaves; motto, " Semper spero meliora " (I always hope for better things).

Every branch of the Pringles has scallop shells in its shield. 3

Early Origins of the Prang family

The surname Prang was first found in Roxburghshire, where the first Chief on record was Robert de Hoppryngil who witnessed a deed by King Alexander III of Scotland in 1250 A.D. Forty-six years later, Ellys Obringkel was Bishop of St. Andrews, and rendered homage to King Edward I of England on his brief conquest of Scotland in 1296. His seal bore a hunting horn. About this time they acquired the Clan territories near Stow and they became close allies of the Black Douglases. 4

"The little silver coin called a pringle, formerly minted in Scotland, and of about the value of an English penny, may have derived its name from one of this family." 5

Early History of the Prang family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prang research. Another 426 words (30 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1368, 1406, 1450, 1455, 1485, 1513, 1568, 1580, 1625, 1626, 1628, 1631, 1664, 1667, 1689, 1736 and 1976 are included under the topic Early Prang History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prang Spelling Variations

Spelling rules had not yet evolved in medieval Scotland, some names dating from that era often appear many different ways. Some spelling variations of Prang include Pringle, Pringell, Prindle, Hopringle and others.

Early Notables of the Prang family

Notable among the family at this time was George Pringle (1631-1689), of Torwoodlee, eldest son of James Pringle of Torwoodlee. The Pringles of Torwoodlee, Selkirkshire, are descended from the Pringles of Snailholm, Roxburghshire, the first of the name being George, son of William Pringle of Snailholm who was killed at Flodden in 1513. This George Pringle was murdered in his own house by a party of Liddesdale reivers in 1568. 6Walter Pringle (1625-1667), of Greenknowe, Berwickshire, Scottish Covenanter, was the third son of Robert Pringle, first of Stitchel, Roxburghshire. The Pringles of Stitchel were descended from the Hop Pringles of Craiglatch...
Another 124 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Prang Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Prang family to Ireland

Some of the Prang family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prang migration to the United States +

The Boernician-Scottish people who came to North America were often nearly penniless when they arrived, and brought very few personal effects with them. Much Scottish heritage was lost in the process, and it is only this century that highland games, Clan societies, and other patriotic Scottish organizations have helped the ancestors of Scots to rediscover their national legacy. Prangs were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America:

Prang Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Herman Prang, who landed in New York in 1709 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Prang (post 1700) +

Jeffrey Prang, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2000 8

Sources +

Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. Print.
Dixon, Bernard Homer, Surnames. London: John Wilson and son, 1857. Print
Polson, Alexander, The Romance of Scottish Crests and Mottoes. Inverness: Walter Alexander, Inglis Street 1929. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html