PosthumusDutch, Low German From a personal name which was given to a posthumous child, i.e., one born after the death of his father, derived from Latin postumus "last, last-born" (superlative of posterus "coming after, subsequent") via Late Latin posthumus, which was altered by association with Latin humare "to bury", suggesting death (i.e., thought to consist of post "after" and humus "grave", hence "after death"); the one born after the father's death obviously being the last.
PotemkinRussian A Russian surname which derives from the word "Потёмка" (Potyomka) meaning "dark". People bearing the name Potemkin rose to prominence in Muscovy from the 16th century onwards.
PoznanskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name from the city of Poznan in west-central Poland, or possibly from other places of this name, in Katowice and Siedlce voivodeships.
PrannoEstonian Pranno is an Estonian surname derived from the masculine nickname/given name "Pranno".
PrantsEstonian Prants is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "prantsuse" meaning French, or "prantsti/prantsatus" meaning to "slam" and "bang". Could also derived from "prints" meaning "prince".
PreshawEnglish (British, Rare) This surname is a habitational name from a locality near Upham on the slopes of the South Downs. It is entirely within a private estate and has its own chapel.
PresleyScottish From Persley, a small Scottish hamlet on the River Don, Aberdeenshire, now a suburb of the much larger city of Aberdeen, named perhaps with the Pictish word *pres-, meaning 'bushes' or 'undergrowth'.... [more]
PressEnglish, Jewish A nickname for a pious individual from the Middle English form of "priest" or possibly someone employed by a priest. In the Jewish sense, one whose occupation was to iron clothes.
PretoPortuguese comes from the Portuguese word preto meaning "black" or "dark". referring to someone with dark skin and/or hair. possibly a cognate of the spanish surname Prieto
PrevedorosGreek From the Italian rank of provveditore "he who sees to things" (overseer) was the style of various local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire of the Republic of Venice.
PrideauxCornish Means "person from Prideaux, earlier Pridias", Cornwall (perhaps based on Cornish prȳ "clay"). The modern Frenchified spelling is based on the idea that the name comes from French près d'eaux "near waters" or pré d'eaux "meadow of waters".
PridmoreEnglish unexplained; perhaps a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place. Pridmore has long been a Leicestershire name.
PriestEnglish Derived from the occupation priest, which is a minister of a church. It could also be a nickname for a person who is / was a priest.
PrieurFrench from prieur Old French prior "prior" a monastic official immediately subordinate to an abbot (from Latin prior "superior") hence an occupational name for a servant of a prior or an ironic nickname... [more]
PriiEstonian Prii is an Estonian surname meaning "free".
PriidelEstonian Priidel is an Estonian surname derived from "prii" meaning "free".
PrikkEstonian Prikk is an Estonian surname meaning "(ship's) brig".
PrimroseScottish From the name of Primrose in Fife, Scotland, a place originally named Prenrhos, literally "tree-moor" in Welsh. This is the family name of the Earls of Rosebery.
PrinceEnglish, French Nickname from Middle English, Old French prince (Latin princeps), presumably denoting someone who behaved in a regal manner or who had won the title in some contest of skill.
PrincipBosnian, Serbian Probably derived from Latin princeps "leader, initiator, prince", which itself was ultimately derived from primus "first" and capere "to take". The surname may thus have originated as a nickname for someone with a princely appearance, or for someone who was the illegitimate offspring of a prince... [more]
PríncipeItalian, Spanish From principe "prince, heir" (Latin princeps, genitive principis, from primus "first" and capere "to take"), applied probably as a nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces or for someone in the service of a prince.
PrinsDutch, Jewish Means "prince" in Dutch, but almost never a surname for a prince. Instead, it's an occupational surname for someone in the service of a prince or a nickname for someone who acted in a regal manner. The surname is also Jewish Dutch and is used as an ornamental adoption of Dutch prins still meaning "prince".
PrinslooAfrikaans Prinsloo is an Afrikaans surname. The name is derived from the dutch word Prins (meaning prince), and a loo suffix meaning clearing in the forest. Variant spellings include Prinzloo and Prinslo.
PriorEnglish Occupational surname for a prior (a high-ranking official in a monastery), ultimately from Latin prior meaning "superior, first".
PriorIrish Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mac an Phríora meaning "son of the prior".
PrioreItalian from Italian priore "prior" either a nickname or occupational name which probably most often originated as a metonymic occupational name for a servant of a prior or some important lay dignitary... [more]
PrivettFrench, English, Welsh (?) French, from the given name Privat (see Privatus). Also an English habitational name from a place so named in Hampshire, derived from Old English pryfet "privet".
ProcidaItalian Habitational name from Procida, one of the Flegrean Islands off the coast of Naples in southern Italy.
ProcopioItalian Italian (Calabria) and Greek (Prokopios): from the personal name Procopio, Greek Prokopios, from pro ‘before’, ‘in front’ + kopē ‘cut’, actually an omen name meaning ‘success’, ‘prosperity’ but as a Church name taken to mean ‘pioneer’ as it was the name of the first victim of Diocletian's persecutions in Palestine in AD 303... [more]
ProctorEnglish Occupational name from Middle English prok(e)tour "steward" (reduced from Old French procurateour, Latin procurator "agent", from procurare "to manage"). The term was used most commonly of an attorney in a spiritual court, but also of other officials such as collectors of taxes and agents licensed to collect alms on behalf of lepers and enclosed orders of monks.
ProiaItalian From the name of a place in Italy. The meaning is uncertain, but it might be derived from Greek πρωία (proía) "morning".
ProiettiItalian From Latin proiecto "abandoned, thrown away", given to foundlings and children abandoned at orphanages. The name may have been taken from la ruota dei proietti, or "foundling wheel", that some orphanages and religious institutes in Italy installed for infants to be anonymously abandoned in.
ProodeEstonian Proode is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "pruudi", meaning "bridal".
PröömEstonian Prööm is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "krööm" meaning "grain".
ProosaEstonian Proosa is an Estonian surname meaning "prose".
ProphetEnglish, Scottish, French, German Scottish, English, French, and German: nickname from Middle English and Old French prophete, Middle High German prophet ‘prophet’, ‘seer’, ultimately from Greek prophetes ‘predictor’, from pro ‘before’ + a derivative of phemi ‘to speak’... [more]
ProrokPolish The meaning of prorok is prophet. It was the maiden name of my maternal grandmother. It is not a common name. Her family was from the southeastern part of Poland.
ProvencherFrench From the French word for the flower periwinkle. (pervenche) Brought to Canada from France in 1660 by Sebastien Provencher.
ProvidenceEnglish From the name of the capital city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, derived from Middle English providence meaning "divine guidance, care", ultimately from Latin providentia.
ProvodnikovRussian From Russian проводник (provodnik) meaning "conductor". Means "son of a conductor".
ProvostEnglish, French Derived from the Middle English provost; referring to the person who heads a religious chapter in a cathedral or educational establishment. It was also used as a nickname for a self-important person and is a French variant of Prevost.
ProwseEnglish Nickname for a person who was proud, haughty, brave or valiant, derived from Old French prous, prou, preux, proz and prouz meaning "proud, brave, valiant". A famous bearer was David Prowse (1935-2020), an English bodybuilder, weightlifter and character actor who portrayed the villain Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies.
ProwzeAnglo-Norman An Anglo-Norman occupational surname used for soldiers or a nickname for someone bold that is derived from the pre-10th-century Old French proz or prouz, meaning "proud" or "brave". It could also be a variant of the surname Prue... [more]
PrudeEnglish (American) This surname comes from the English word prude. The definition for the word prude is a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.
PrudeAfrican American This surname came from the English word prude. The definition of the word prude is a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.
PrudhommeFrench, English, Norman, Medieval French French (Prud’homme) and English (of Norman origin): nickname from Old French prud’homme ‘wise’, ‘sensible man’, a cliché term of approbation from the chivalric romances. It is a compound of Old French proz, prod ‘good’, with the vowel influenced by crossing with prudent ‘wise’ + homme ‘man’... [more]
PrueEnglish, French English: nickname for a redoubtable warrior, from Middle English prou(s) ‘brave’, ‘valiant’ (Old French proux, preux).... [more]
PruettEnglish Derived from the Middle English word "prou," meaning "brave," or "valiant," with the addition of either of two common diminutive suffixes: "-et" or "-ot." As such, this name is thought to have originally been a nickname for someone small, but brave.
PruittEnglish, French French and English: nickname from a pet form of Old French proux ‘valiant’, ‘brave’, or ‘wise’ (see Proulx, Prue).
PrunaSpanish (Rare) Possibly a habitational name from a place so named in Spain. It could also be derived from Catalan pruna "plum".
PrymakBelarusian Derived from Belarusian прымак (prymak) meaning "live-in son-in-law (man who marries and lives with his wife's family)".
PrynneEnglish Derived from an Anglo-Norman form of the Late Latin name Primus. A fictional bearer is Hester Prynne, the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel 'The Scarlet Letter' (1850).
PrysWelsh From the Welsh personal name Rhys, which also took the forms Rice and Rees. This name was originally derived from the Old Welsh forename Ris, which means ardour.
PrzespolewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Greater Polish villages in Gmina Ceków-Kolonia: Przespolew Pański or Przespolew Kościelny.