PRESTON EnglishOriginally derived from various place names meaning
"priest town" in Old English.
PRETORIUS Southern African, AfrikaansFrom Latin
praetor meaning
"leader". This name was adopted in the 17th century by Wesselius Praetorius as a Latin translation of his previous surname
Schulte. It is now common in South Africa.
PRIETO SpanishFrom a nickname meaning
"dark" in Spanish, referring to a person with dark hair or skin.
PRINSEN DutchMeans
"son of the prince", the term prince would have denoted someone who acted in a regal manner.
PRINZ German, JewishMeans
"prince", used as an ornamental name by Jews or as a nickname for someone who acted in a princely manner.
PROCHÁZKA CzechMeans
"walk, wander, stroll" in Czech. This was an occupational name for a travelling tradesman.
PROFETA ItalianFrom Italian
profeta meaning
"prophet". It probably came from a nickname indicating a person who wanted to predict the future. It is typical of southern Italy.
PROTZ GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"showy, pompous", derived from an old southern German word meaning "toad".
PROULX FrenchDerived from Old French
preu meaning
"valiant, brave".
PROVENZA ItalianFrom the name of the Provence region of southern France (in Italian
Provenza). It is derived from Latin
provincia "province", a territorial division.
PRYOR EnglishOriginally belonged to one who was a prior (a religious official), or one who worked for a prior.
PUERTA SpanishMeans
"door, gate", a topographic name for a person who lived near the gates of the town.
PUGLIESE ItalianFrom an adjectival derivative of Puglia, from Latin
Apulia, a region of southeast Italy containing the boot heel and some of the coastline of the Adriatic Sea. It is a regional name for someone from that region.
PULKRÁBEK CzechDerived from the medieval status name
purkrabí meaning
"burgrave". It is derived from German
Burggraf meaning "castle count".
PURCELL EnglishFrom Old French
pourcel "piglet", from Latin
porcellus, a derivative of
porcus "pig". This was a nickname or an occupational name for a swineherd.
PUSKÁS HungarianOccupational name for a gunsmith or cannon maker, from Hungarian
puska meaning
"gun" (from German, itself from Latin
buxis "box").
PUSZTAI HungarianFrom Hungarian
puszta meaning
"plain, steppe". The name was given to someone living on a plain.
PUTIN RussianFrom Russian
путь (put) meaning
"road, path". This surname is borne by the Russian president Vladimir Putin (1952-).
PUTNAM EnglishFrom
Puttenham, the name of towns in Hertfordshire and Surrey in England, which mean "Putta's homestead".