Prior Family History

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Prior Name Meaning

Southern English, 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 or, more often, an occupational name for a servant of a prior. 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. 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.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Priore, Priolo, Prime, Oriol, Prim, Brier, Price, Pritz, Prier, Rio

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Prior Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Prior name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Prior. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    49%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    27%

  • Germanic Europe

    6%

  • Eastern Europe & Russia

    3%

  • Norway

    2%

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Prior Family Origin

Where is the Prior family from?

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1840
    1920
    You can see how Prior families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Prior family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Prior families were found in the UK in 1891. In 1840 there were 45 Prior families living in Ohio. This was about 18% of all the recorded Prior's in the USA. Ohio had the highest population of Prior families in 1840.
    Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Prior surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

    View Census Data for Prior

    Prior Family Occupations

    What did your Prior ancestors do for a living?

    In 1880, Farmer, Laborer and Keeping House were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Prior. A less common occupation for the Prior family was Farming. The most common Prior occupation in the USA was Farmer. 28% of Prior's were Farmers.

    View Census data for Prior | Data not to scale

    • Farmer

      28%

    • Laborer

      10%

    • Keeping House

      6%

    • Farming

      4%

    Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Prior ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

    Prior Historical Records

    What Prior family records will you find?

    Census Record

    There are 211,000 census records available for the last name Prior. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Prior census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

    Search 1940's US census records for Prior

    Passenger List

    There are 18,000 immigration records available for the last name Prior. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

    View all Prior immigration records

    Draft Card

    There are 24,000 military records available for the last name Prior. For the veterans among your Prior ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

    View all Prior military records

    You've only scratched the surface of Prior family history.

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    Prior Life Expectancy

    What is the average Prior lifespan?

    Between 1944 and 2004, in the United States, Prior life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 1945. The average life expectancy for Prior in 1944 was 26, and 76 in 2004.

    View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Prior

    An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Prior ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

    Famous Prior Family Ancestors

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