Priests History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Ireland

Etymology of Priests

The ancient name of Priests finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a priest having derived from the Old English word preost, which means priest. It was also a nickname given to a person with a priestly character, and probably also given to a person with the exact opposite character. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.

Early Origins of the Priests family

Early History of the Priests family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Priests research. Another 391 words (28 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1379, 1557, 1558, 1579, 1615, 1621, 1645 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Priests History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Priests Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Priests family name include Preost, Priest, Prest, Preist, Prestt, Press and many more.

Early Notables of the Priests family

Notables of the family at this time include Agnes Prest (died 1557), an English Protestant martyr burned at the stake at Southernhay in Exeter; Degory Priest (ca. 1579-1621), A London...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Priests Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Priests family to Ireland

Some of the Priests family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 46 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Priests family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Priests surname or a spelling variation of the name include : John Priest, his wife Sara, and their daughters Mary and Sarah, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1620 aboard the "Mayflower"; Degory Priest who also arrived in Massachusetts in 1620 aboard the ".