NameCensus.

UK surname

Prater

An English occupational surname referring to a worker in a meadow or one who lives near a meadow.

In the 1881 census there were 342 people recorded with the Prater surname, ranking it #8,902 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 432, ranked #11,135, down from #8,902 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lambourn, Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Oxfordshire, Tendring and Basingstoke and Deane.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Prater is 452 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 26.3%.

1881 census count

342

Ranked #8,902

Modern count

432

2016, ranked #11,135

Peak year

1998

452 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Prater had 342 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,902 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 432 in 2016, ranked #11,135.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 435 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Prater surname distribution map

The map shows where the Prater surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Prater surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Prater over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 302 #7,606
1861 historical 288 #8,743
1881 historical 342 #8,902
1891 historical 377 #9,302
1901 historical 405 #9,405
1911 historical 435 #8,724
1997 modern 450 #10,075
1998 modern 452 #10,384
1999 modern 451 #10,435
2000 modern 444 #10,559
2001 modern 432 #10,584
2002 modern 428 #10,880
2003 modern 434 #10,588
2004 modern 433 #10,644
2005 modern 416 #10,855
2006 modern 407 #11,087
2007 modern 407 #11,228
2008 modern 415 #11,145
2009 modern 406 #11,586
2010 modern 419 #11,550
2011 modern 427 #11,243
2012 modern 431 #11,047
2013 modern 436 #11,106
2014 modern 430 #11,323
2015 modern 430 #11,226
2016 modern 432 #11,135

Geography

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Where Praters are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lambourn, Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and All Saints Poplar. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to South Oxfordshire, Tendring, Basingstoke and Deane, Thurrock and West Berkshire. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Lambourn Berkshire
2 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
3 London parishes London 1
4 London parishes London 3
5 All Saints Poplar London (East Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Oxfordshire 018 South Oxfordshire
2 Tendring 004 Tendring
3 Basingstoke and Deane 004 Basingstoke and Deane
4 Thurrock 005 Thurrock
5 West Berkshire 020 West Berkshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Prater

These lists show first names that appear often with the Prater surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Prater

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Prater, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Prater surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Prater household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Skilled Trades and Construction Workers

Within London, Prater is most associated with areas classed as Skilled Trades and Construction Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These scattered, peripheral and often low residential density neighbourhoods house more workers in skilled trades and construction. Few households rent social housing and there are few students. Multiple car ownership is higher than the Supergroup average, perhaps because of poorer public transport connectivity. Incidence of mixed or multiple ethnicity is below the Supergroup average, and the absence of individuals identifying as Pakistani or Other Asian groups is also less pronounced. Flatted accommodation is less dominant than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Prater is most concentrated in decile 3 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

3
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Prater falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Prater is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Prater, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Prater

The surname Prater is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the areas of Bavaria and Austria, during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Middle High German word "prâter," which means "one who prattles" or "a chatterbox." This suggests that the name was initially given as a nickname to someone who was known for excessive talking or gossiping.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Raitenbuch, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century, which mentions a person named Chunradus Prater. Additionally, the Prater surname appears in various historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries in southern Germany and Austria.

The name Prater is also associated with a famous public park in Vienna, Austria, known as the Prater. This park was originally a hunting ground for the Habsburg dynasty and was later opened to the public in the 16th century. It is believed that the name "Prater" was derived from the German word "Prater," meaning "meadow" or "pasture."

Notable individuals with the surname Prater throughout history include:

1. Hans Prater (c. 1445-1516), a German painter and engraver active in Nuremberg during the Renaissance period. 2. Johann Prater (1633-1704), a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg. 3. Christoph Prater (1722-1793), an Austrian botanist and physician who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy. 4. Karl Prater (1810-1866), an Austrian landscape painter known for his depictions of the Austrian countryside and the Prater park in Vienna. 5. August Prater (1828-1901), a German-American soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Atlanta in 1864.

While the surname Prater has its roots in Germany and Austria, it has since spread to various other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, the historical accounts and records mentioned above provide insights into the origin and early occurrences of this name, highlighting its linguistic and cultural significance.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Prater families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Prater surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 74 Praters recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.22x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 74 2.22x
Berkshire 56 22.36x
Cornwall 49 12.97x
Wiltshire 20 6.78x
Hampshire 17 2.49x
Glamorgan 16 2.75x
Somerset 14 2.61x
Durham 12 1.21x
Gloucestershire 12 1.83x
Surrey 12 0.74x
Kent 11 0.97x
Devon 9 1.30x
Essex 9 1.37x
Lancashire 8 0.20x
Staffordshire 7 0.62x
Warwickshire 6 0.71x
Northumberland 3 0.60x
Yorkshire 3 0.09x
Dorset 1 0.46x
Fife 1 0.51x
Oxfordshire 1 0.49x
Worcestershire 1 0.23x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Cubert in Cornwall leads with 14 Praters recorded in 1881 and an index of 3255.81x.

Place Total Index
Cubert 14 3255.81x
East Hendred 14 1505.38x
Kensington London 14 7.55x
Bedminster 13 25.76x
Islington London 11 3.40x
Lambourn 11 443.55x
Reading St Giles 11 44.77x
Tunstall 11 222.67x
West Shefford 11 2000.00x
Fulham London 10 20.67x
Maker 10 286.53x
St Marylebone London 10 5.61x
Poplar London 9 14.29x
Swansea Town 9 18.90x
Liverpool 8 3.33x
Sidmonton 7 3181.82x
West Ham 7 4.81x
Llantrisant 6 40.98x
Perranzabuloe 6 184.05x
Tormoham 6 20.42x
Walsall Foreign 6 10.31x
Falmouth 5 37.40x
Loxley 5 1351.35x
Stratton St Margaret 5 110.38x
Bromley London 4 5.45x
Charlton 4 52.91x
Chipping Campden 4 187.79x
Marlborough St Mary Virgin 4 192.31x
Ramsbury 4 149.81x
Redruth 4 37.45x
Spitalfields London 4 15.94x
Swindon 4 17.48x
Chelsea London 3 2.98x
Crantock 3 769.23x
Earsdon 3 74.26x
Gwennap 3 42.13x
Itchingswell 3 588.24x
Lambeth 3 1.03x
Limehouse London 3 8.19x
Marlborough St Peter St 3 197.37x
Milton 3 638.30x
Bromley 2 11.53x
Burghclere 2 229.89x
Camberwell 2 0.94x
Cheltenham 2 3.96x
Chertsey 2 19.05x
Coln St Aldwins 2 392.16x
Earley 2 47.96x
Hackney London 2 1.07x
Kingsclere 2 64.10x
Lee 2 12.10x
Leyton Low 2 14.94x
Newington 2 1.62x
Portsea 2 1.49x
Southowram 2 19.82x
St Columb Minor 2 63.09x
Bathwick 1 16.84x
Battersea 1 0.81x
Bicester Market End 1 26.46x
Bristol St Mary Redcliff 1 16.78x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 1 1.62x
Clewer 1 9.75x
Devonport 1 12.53x
Ealing 1 3.35x
Edgbaston 1 3.83x
Gateshead 1 1.35x
Gillingham 1 4.26x
Holdenhurst 1 5.58x
Kintbury 1 51.81x
Largo 1 39.06x
Leeds 1 0.54x
Leigh 1 18.90x
Mangotsfield 1 15.34x
Okehampton 1 38.17x
Queenborough 1 88.50x
St Gluvias 1 47.39x
Sutton 1 8.50x
Wandsworth 1 3.11x
Willenhall 1 4.74x
Wyke Regis 1 31.85x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Prater surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 34
Elizabeth 13
Sarah 13
Eliza 8
Charlotte 6
Fanny 6
Ann 4
Ellen 4
Emma 4
Alice 3
Emily 3
Hannah 3
Harriet 3
Jane 3
Kate 3
Martha 3
Rhoda 3
Bessie 2
Caroline 2
Catherine 2
Clara 2
Edith 2
Elizabth. 2
Florence 2
Jessie 2
Louisa 2
Matilda 2
Rebecca 2
Rose 2
Susan 2
Bertha 1
Christine 1
Constance 1
Dorothea 1
Elisa 1
Elizth 1
Elizth. 1
Eva 1
Florance 1
Harrett 1
Katherine 1
Lily 1
Lizzie 1
Lucy 1
Mabel 1
Margaret 1
Matha 1
Maude 1
Minnie 1
Thurza 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Prater surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 30
John 16
Thomas 14
Charles 13
George 12
James 10
Alfred 8
Joseph 8
Samuel 6
Albert 5
Francis 4
Frederick 4
Henry 3
Richard 3
Robert 3
Stephen 3
Daniel 2
Thos. 2
Aaron 1
Amos 1
Arthur 1
Augustus 1
Cromwell 1
Culbeth 1
Edward 1
Edwd. 1
Eli 1
Ernest 1
Hezekiah 1
Horatio 1
Jesse 1
Leonard 1
Mary 1
Mathew 1
Nathaniel 1
Percy 1
Sidney 1
Willie 1
Willm.J. 1

FAQ

Prater surname: questions and answers

How common was the Prater surname in 1881?

In 1881, 342 people were recorded with the Prater surname. That placed it at #8,902 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Prater surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 432 in 2016. That gives Prater a modern rank of #11,135.

What does the Prater surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a worker in a meadow or one who lives near a meadow.

What does the Prater map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Prater bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.