Contents [hide]

Parr History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Parr History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestry of the name Parr dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the region of Parr which was known in Lancashire as an enclosed area. having derived from the English word "pearr," 1

Parr is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

One source notes: "I ventured to derive this surname from Peter, and this, through the French Pierre, is probably the true origin of it in some cases; but a correspondent (the Rev. Henry Parr) says: 'it is derived from the manor of Parr in Lancashire, which is also a township, and of late years has become a chapelry. There all my ancestors were settled from the XIII. century, and there is sufficient reason for concluding, that every family bearing the name has branched out from the same parent stock.' " 2

Early Origins of the Parr family

The surname Parr was first found in Lancashire at Parr, a township in the parish of Prescot where one of the first records of the family was John Parr, rector of the church of St. Elphin, Warrington, Lancashire in December 1367. 3

"The family of Parre or Parr, barons of Kendal, were anciently lords of the manor. Sir Thomas Parre, master of the wards and comptroller to Henry VIII., died in the 9th year of that king's reign, leaving two sons and two daughters, of whom one of the latter, Catherine, became the unfortunate queen of Henry VIII. His son, William, inherited the estates, and was successively created lord Parr and Ross, Baron of Hart, earl of Essex, and marquess of Northampton." 4

Sir John Parr (c. 1371), the progenitor of the Parr family which included Catherine Parr (1512-1548), Queen of England. Without a doubt, one of the most famous of the family in the early years was Thomas Parr (1483-1635), the Englishman who was said to have lived for 152 years. Often referred to as Old Parr or Old Tom Parr, his portrait hangs at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, with an inscription which reads "Thomas Parr died at the age of 152 years 9 months." He was treated as a spectacle in London, but the change in food apparently led to his death. The king arranged for him to be buried at Westminster Abbey complete with a monument.

Early History of the Parr family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Parr research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1407, 1434, 1461, 1483, 1512, 1517, 1543, 1547, 1548, 1592, 1644, 1725 and 1791 are included under the topic Early Parr History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Parr Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Parr have been found, including Parr, Par, Parre and others.

Early Notables of the Parr family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Sir Thomas Parr (1407-1461), an English landowner and elected Member of Parliament six times

Parr World Ranking

In the United States, the name Parr is the 1,915^th most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 5 However, in New Zealand, the name Parr is ranked the 895^th most popular surname with an estimated 819 people with that name. 6 And in the United Kingdom, the name Parr is the 631^st popular surname with an estimated 10,423 people with that name. 7

Migration of the Parr family to Ireland

Some of the Parr family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Parr migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Parr, or a variant listed above:

Parr Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Parr, who settled in Virginia in 1637
Abel Parr, who landed in Massachusetts in 1641 8
Edward Parr, who arrived in Virginia in 1649 8
Thomas Parr, who landed in Virginia in 1651 8
Mary Parr, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Parr Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Alex Parr, who landed in Virginia in 1701 8
Antho Parr, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 8
Alerr Parr, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 8
Jacob Parr, aged 20, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 8
Johannes Parr, aged 23, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1743 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Parr Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Parr, aged 25, who arrived in New York in 1812 8
Margaret Parr, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 8
Anne Parr, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 8
William Parr, who arrived in New York in 1843 8
Christian Parr, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1856 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Parr migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Parr Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Ms. Harriett Parr U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1784 smember of the Penobscot Association 9
Mr. William Parr U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Penobscot Association 9

Parr Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Joseph Parr, who arrived in Canada in 1830
Miss Johanna Parr, aged 1 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Juliet" departing 3rd July 1847 from London, England; the ship arrived on 28th August 1847 but she died on board 10
Henry D Parr, who arrived in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862

Parr migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Parr Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Parr, British Convict who was convicted in Kent, England for life , transported aboard the "Commodore Hayes" in April 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Mr. Charles Parr, (Jenkinson), English convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 24th March 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. Henry Parr, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 24th March 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. John Parr, British Convict who was convicted in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for life, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 24th March 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Chapman Parr, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Hooghly" in 1839 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Parr migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Parr Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Parr, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Westminster" in 1843
Thomas Parr, aged 34, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Westminster" in 1843
Jane Elizabeth Parr, aged 31, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Westminster" in 1843
Edward Parr, aged 13, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Westminster" in 1843
Thomas Parr, aged 10, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Westminster" in 1843
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Parr 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. 14

Parr Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Joe Parr, who arrived in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635
Mr. John Parr, (b. 1616), aged 19, British settler traveling aboard the ship "William and John" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 15
George Parr and his wife, who settled in Barbados in 1678

Contemporary Notables of the name Parr (post 1700) +

Archer "Archie" Parr (b. 1860), American Texas cattle rancher and politician, nicknamed "the Duke of Duval County"
Jack Harold Parr (1918-2004), American two-time Emmy Award nominated radio and television comedian and talk show host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962
Jerry S. Parr (1930-2015), American Secret Service Agent who is widely credited with helping to save President Reagan's life on his assassination attempt on March 30, 1981
Larry Parr (b. 1942), American chessmaster
John Parr (b. 1954), American musician
Henry Bingham Parr (1845-1930), English cricketer active from 1872 to 1876
George Parr (1826-1891), English cricketer
Chris Parr (b. 1944), English theatre director and television executive
Mr. John Parr, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1562 to 1563
Robert Michael "Bob" Parr (b. 1957), Emmy Award-winning English-born New Zealand television producer
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Parr family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. George Frederick Parr (1904-1941), Australian Chief Electrical Artificer from Footscray, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 16

HMS Royal Oak

William Alfred Parr (d. 1939), British Stoker 2nd Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 17

RMS Titanic

Mr. William Henry Marsh Parr (d. 1912), aged 29, Irish First Class passenger from Belfast, Ireland who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 18

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 92)
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th March 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/commodore-hayes
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HOOGHLY 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Hooghly.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html