Prado History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy
Spain

From the ancient and beautiful Italian island of Sicily emerged a variety of distinguished names, including the notable surname Prado. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. Italian hereditary surnames were developed according to fairly general principles and they were characterized by a profusion of derivatives coined from given names. Although the most traditional type of family name found in the region of Sicily is the patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, local surnames are also found. Local names, which are the least frequent of the major types of surnames found in Italy, are derived from a place-name where the original bearer once resided or held land. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di," which signifies emigration from one place to another, and does not necessarily denote nobility. The Prado family lived by the fields or meadows. The surname Prato is derived from the local name Prato, which means field or meadow.

Early Origins of the Prado family

The surname Prado was first found in at Lecce, the historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce and a port city located on the southern tip of the Italian peninsula.

Early History of the Prado family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prado research. The years 1229, 1292, 1330, 1352, 1359, 1370, 1400 and 1450 are included under the topic Early Prado History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prado Spelling Variations

Italian surnames come in far more variations than the names of most other nationalities. Regional traditions and dialects are a decisive factor in this characteristic. For example, northern names tend to end in "o", while southern in "i". Also important, but not unique to Italy, was the fact that before dictionaries and the printing press most scribes simply spelled words according to their sounds. The predictable result was an enormous number of spelling variations. The recorded spellings of Prado include Prato, Prata, Prati, Prado, Prada, Pra, Dal Prato, Del Prato, Dal Pra, Pratello, Pratelli, Pratella, Pradella, Pradel, Pradetto, Pratolini, Pradolin, Pratali and many more.

Early Notables of the Prado family

Prominent among bearers of this surname in early times was Guglielmo Prata, an ambassador in Milan in 1229 who undertook part of the responsibility for renewing the city after the destructive invasion of Federico Barbarossa; Ser Lapo de'Pratesi of Florence is recorded as having been a priest in 1292; Cristoforo Prata was a respected doctor in Milan around 1450; also of this Milanese Prata family was Antonio, Senator and Supreme Chancellor of the Senate in Milan during the early 16th century; Daniele-Florido Prata of Friuli, who, from the Republic of Venice, received the title of nobleman, and...
Another 97 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Prado Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prado Ranking

In the United States, the name Prado is the 2,358^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 1

Prado migration to the United States +

An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Prado arrived in North America very early:

Prado Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Alvaro de Prado, who sailed to America in 1512
Benito de Prado, who sailed to America in 1513 with his wife and servants
Pedro de Prado, who sailed to sailed to Hispaniola in 1534
Diego de Prado, who sailed to Florida in 1538

Prado Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Raimundo Prado Díaz, who sailed to Puerto Rico in 1802
Alvaro De Prado, who arrived in America in 1812 2
Benito De Prado, who landed in America in 1813 2
Francisco Del Prado, who arrived in America in 1813 2
Gomez De Prado, who landed in America in 1813 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prado Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Alberto Prado, aged 5, who landed in America, in 1904
Amelio Prado, aged 37, who immigrated to the United States, in 1920
Antonio Prado, aged 23, who landed in America, in 1920
Aurelio Prado, aged 35, who settled in America, in 1921
B. Prado, aged 27, who landed in America, in 1923
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prado migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3

Prado Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Pedro De Prado, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1834 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Prado (post 1700) +

Edgar S. Prado (b. 1967), Peruvian-born, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey in thoroughbred horse racing
Samuel Prado, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Delaware, 2004 4
Raul Prado, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 117th District, 2002 4
Miguel I. Prado, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 12th District, 1996 4
Marta Prado, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1996, 2000 4
Humberto Prado, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Mayor of Hammond, Indiana, 2011 4
Edward C. Prado, American politician, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, 1981-84 4
Anne del Prado, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 2004 5
Martín Manuel Prado (b. 1983), Venezuelan Major League Baseball player for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Bessie A Prado, U.S. Air Force Reserve flight nurse and AIDS clinic charge nurse
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html