Pras History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Etymology of Pras

What does the name Pras mean?

The region of ancient France known as Auvergne is where the name Pras was born. Pras was a name for someone who lived in the modern administrative departments of Cantal and Puy-de-Dôme. While the old provinces were divided into the current "departments" in 1790, almost all of the French refer to themselves as if they were still resident in the medieval province instead of the current department.

Early Origins of the Pras family

The surname Pras was first found in Auvergne, a historic province in south central France where the family has been traced from early times.

Early History of the Pras family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pras research. Another 193 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1243, 1463, 1495, 1507, 1515, 1525, 1527, 1530, 1535, 1547, 1583, 1662 and 1729 are included under the topic Early Pras History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pras Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Pras some of which are Prat, Prats, Pras, Prate, Prates, Pratte, Prattes, Prad, Prads, Prade, Prades, Praf, Prafs, Prafe, Prafes, Praffe, Praffes, Prap, Praps, Prape, Prapes, Prappe, Prappes, DuPrat, De la Prat, DePrat, Deprat, De Prat, du Prat and many more.

Early Notables of the Pras family

More information is included under the topic Early Pras Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pras Ranking

In France, the name Pras is the 5,996^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 1

Pras migration to the United States +

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Pras has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Pras were

Pras Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Bernardo Pras, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1816 2

The Pras Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Spes mea Deus
Motto Translation: God is my hope.

Sources +

http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)