Show ContentsPrades History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The region of ancient France known as Auvergne is where the name Prades was born. Prades was a name for someone who lived in the modern administrative departments of Cantal and Puy-de-Dôme. While the old provinces were divided into the current "departments" in 1790, almost all of the French refer to themselves as if they were still resident in the medieval province instead of the current department.

Early Origins of the Prades family

The surname Prades was first found in Auvergne, a historic province in south central France where the family has been traced from early times.

Early History of the Prades family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prades research. Another 193 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1243, 1463, 1495, 1507, 1515, 1525, 1527, 1530, 1535, 1547, 1583, 1662 and 1729 are included under the topic Early Prades History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prades Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Prades, including Prat, Prats, Pras, Prate, Prates, Pratte, Prattes, Prad, Prads, Prade, Prades, Praf, Prafs, Prafe, Prafes, Praffe, Praffes, Prap, Praps, Prape, Prapes, Prappe, Prappes, DuPrat, De la Prat, DePrat, Deprat, De Prat, du Prat and many more.

Early Notables of the Prades family

More information is included under the topic Early Prades Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prades Ranking

In France, the name Prades is the 8,034th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Prades family

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Prades were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Prades were Jacques Prate settled in Philadelphia in 1832; John Prat settled in Virginia in 1607.


Contemporary Notables of the name Prades (post 1700) +

  • Jean-Martin de Prades (1720-1782), French Catholic theologian, born at Castelsarrasin, Tarn-et-Garonne
  • Laurent Prades (b. 1968), French former professional tennis player


The Prades Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Spes mea Deus
Motto Translation: God is my hope.


  1. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/


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