Contents [hide]

Prince History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies South Africa

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Prince History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Prince

What does the name Prince mean?

The origins of the Anglo-Saxon name Prince come from its first bearer, who was a person who acted in a regal manner, or who had won the title of prince in a contest of some sort. Prince is a nickname surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. This surname comes from the Old and Middle French word prince, which means first.

Early Origins of the Prince family

The surname Prince was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Prince family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prince research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1177, 1238, 1327, 1600, 1621, 1643, 1673, 1723, 1788 and 1831 are included under the topic Early Prince History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prince Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Prince has been spelled many different ways, including Prince, Prinse and others.

Early Notables of the Prince family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

John Prince (1643-1723), English biographer and vicar of Totnes and Berry Pomeroy in Devon, best known for his work "The Worthies of Devon."
Thomas Prence (Prince) (ca.1600-1673), English-born settler to America from Lechlade, Gloucestershire, arriving aboard the ship "Fortune" in 1621, and later became the 4th, 8th & 12th Governor of Plym...
Mary Prince (c. 1788) was a Bermudian woman, born into slavery in Brackish Pond, in Devonshire Parish, Bermuda, her autobiography, "The History of Mary Prince" (1831), was the first account of the lif...

Prince World Ranking

In the United States, the name Prince is the 652^nd most popular surname with an estimated 44,766 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Prince is ranked the 705^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,522 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Prince is the 633^rd popular surname. 3 France ranks Prince as 2,379^th with 2,500 - 3,000 people. 4 New Zealand ranks Prince as 903^rd with 814 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Prince as 650^th with 10,030 people. 6

Prince migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Princes to arrive in North America:

Prince Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Prince, who settled in Plymouth in 1621
Edward Prince, who settled in Virginia in 1635
James Prince, who settled in Virginia in 1638
Thomas Prince, who arrived in Virginia in 1639 7
Edmund Prince, who arrived in Virginia in 1640 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prince Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Prince, who landed in Bermuda in 1717 7

Prince Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Prince, aged 37, who arrived in New York in 1812 7
George Prince, aged 33, who landed in New York, NY in 1836 7
Miss Eliza Prince, aged 19, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "North America" on 12th October 1840
Nancy Prince, aged 30, who arrived in Key West, Fla in 1842 7
Rufus Prince, aged 35, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1847 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prince migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Prince Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Anthony Prince, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
Mr. John Prince U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 8
Mr. John Prince U.E. who settled in Hampton, Kings County, New Brunswick c. 1784 he died in 1825 8

Prince Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Nehemiah B Prince, who landed in Canada in 1830

Prince migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Prince Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Robert Prince, British convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Competitor"18th March 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Mr. George Prince, (b. 1788), aged 39, English gardiner who was convicted in London, England for 14 years for robbery, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 14th August 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1838 10
Mr. John Prince who was convicted in East Riding, Yorkshire, England for life, transported aboard the "England"on 31st March 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Mr. William Prince, English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 3rd November 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. John Prince, English convict who was convicted in Southwark, Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 27 September 1834, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prince migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Prince Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Edward Prince, aged 35, a labourer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1841
Mary Prince, aged 35, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1841
E. Prince, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 17th March 1841 14
William Prince, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857
Matilda Prince, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prince migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 15

Prince Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Prince, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his wife and servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Prince (post 1700) +

Harold Smith "Hal" Prince (1928-2019), American theater producer who garnered twenty-one Tony Awards, more than any other individual
Tom Prince (1969-2022), American professional bodybuilder
Donald Mark "Don" Prince (1938-2017), American Major League Baseball who played in one inning of one Major League Baseball game for the 1962 Chicago Cubs
Faith Prince (b. 1957), American actress and singer
Erik Dean Prince (b. 1969), former U.S. Navy SEAL, founder of Blackwater Worldwide in 1997
Charles O. "Chuck" Prince III (b. 1950), American former chief executive officer and chairman of Citigroup
Robert "Bob" Ferris Prince (1916-1985), American radio and television sportscaster
Bevin Anne Prince (b. 1982), American actress
Helen Prince (b. 1905), American astronomer
Arthur L. Prince, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Manchester, New Hampshire, 1935-48 16
... (Another 65 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Prince family +

Empress of Ireland

Master Gilbert Prince (1909-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 17
Mr. William Lee Prince (1880-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 17
Mrs. Mary G Prince (1877-1914), née Wilson Canadian Third Class Passenger from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 17

Flight 191

Linda Marie Prince (d. 1979), American from San Diego, California, USA, aged 29, who worked aboard American Airlines Flight 191 and died in the crash 18

Fraterville mine

Mr. Thomas Prince (d. 1902), American coal miner at Fraterville mine in Tennessee, on the 19th May 1902 when an explosion collapsed the mine; he died 19

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. C Prince, British Able Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 20

HMS Royal Oak

Gerald Arthur Prince (1920-1939), British Able Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 21

Sources +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/competitor
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 26th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
Flight 191's Victims - latimes. (Retrieved 2014, April 16) . Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-04/news/mn-4349_1_fort-lauderdale-area
News paper article Fraterville Mine Disaster retrieved on 6th August 2021. Retrieved from http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/disasters/fraterville.htm
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html