Prothers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

Etymology of Prothers

What does the name Prothers mean?

This old, proud name is a patronymic name created from the Welsh personal name Rhydderc, Riderch, or Roderick, all of which mean "reddish-brown." The surname Prothers features the distinctive Welsh patronymic prefix "ap-," which means "son of." The original form of the name was ap-Rhydderc, or ap-Riderch, but the prefix has been assimilated into the surname over the course of time.

Early Origins of the Prothers family

The surname Prothers was first found in Carmarthenshire (Welsh: Sir Gaerfyrddin), located in Southwest Wales, one of thirteen historic counties and presently one of the principal area in Wales, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Prothers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prothers research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1688 is included under the topic Early Prothers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prothers Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Prothers have included Protheroe, Prytherch, Prothers, Rhydderch and others.

Early Notables of the Prothers family

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

Prothers 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. 1

Prothers Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Thomas Prothers, who settled in Barbados in 1679 with his servants

The Prothers 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: Deus pascit corvos
Motto Translation: God feeds the ravens.

Sources +

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies