Explore the Family Name Prior

The meaning of Prior

1. English (southern), Scottish, Dutch, and German: ultimately from Latin prior ‘superior’, used to denote a prior, a monastic official immediately subordinate to an abbot, hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble a prior. 2. Irish: Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mac an Phríora ‘son of the prior’ (this is the usual origin in counties Cavan and Leitrim). Some examples may be Anglo-Norman, the same name as in 1 above. 3. Portuguese, Spanish, and Catalan: from prior, probably denoting someone in the service of a prior or a nickname for someone who behaved in a pompous way.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Prior in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname "Prior" shifted slightly between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname dropped from 4926 in 2000 to 5154 in 2010, representing a decline of 4.63%. However, the overall count of individuals with this surname increased by 3.56% during the same period, rising from 6554 to 6787. The proportion of people with the surname per 100k also decreased by 5.35%, going from 2.43 in 2000 to 2.3 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#4,926#5,154-4.63%
Count6,5546,7873.56%
Proportion per 100k2.432.3-5.35%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Prior

Looking at the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Prior," the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some interesting trends. Between 2000 and 2010, there was an 81.82% increase in the Asian/Pacific Islander category, a 21.60% increase in those identifying as two or more races, and a 27.59% increase in the American Indian and Alaskan Native group. The Hispanic group also saw growth, increasing by 40.65%. However, the proportion of individuals identifying as white decreased by 1.95%, while the proportion identifying as Black showed a slight increase of 0.17%.

20002010Change
White89.41%87.67%-1.95%
Black5.81%5.82%0.17%
Hispanic2.14%3.01%40.65%
Two or More Races1.62%1.97%21.6%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.44%0.8%81.82%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.58%0.74%27.59%

Prior ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Prior is British & Irish, which comprises 59.0% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (21.3%) and Eastern European (4.0%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish59.0%
French & German21.3%
Eastern European4.0%
Other15.7%
Prior

Possible origins of the surname Prior

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Prior have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Merseyside, United Kingdom88.10%
Greater London, United Kingdom88.10%
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom87.70%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom87.70%
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom87.20%

What Prior haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Prior is I-Z58, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z58 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-A260 and R-CTS241, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Morley, Stephenson, Powers, Stevenson, Arthur, Norman, Cutler, Jarvis, Waite, Field.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Prior surname are: H1c, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

priorPaternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton

Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Prior have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Prior

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Prior" Surname 60.3%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Prior

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Prior" Surname 33.8%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Prior

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Prior" Surname 16.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Prior

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Prior" Surname 19.5%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Prior?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Prior are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%