Priest History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  England 
  Ireland 


The ancient name of Priest finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a priest having derived from the Old English word preost, which means priest. It was also a nickname given to a person with a priestly character, and probably also given to a person with the exact opposite character. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.

Early Origins of the Priest family

The surname Priest was first found in Hertfordshire, where they held a family seat before the Middle Ages.

Early History of the Priest family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Priest research. Another 391 words (28 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1379, 1557, 1558, 1579, 1615, 1621, 1645 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Priest History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Priest Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Priest family name include Preost, Priest, Prest, Preist, Prestt, Press and many more.

Early Notables of the Priest family

Notables of the family at this time include

Priest Ranking

In the United States, the name Priest is the 2,183rd most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 1 However, in New Zealand, the name Priest is ranked the 862nd most popular surname with an estimated 849 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Priest family to Ireland

Some of the Priest family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 46 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Priest migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Priest surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Priest Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Priest Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Priest Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Priest migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Priest Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
Priest Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Priest migration to Australia +

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

Priest Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Priest 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:

Priest Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Priest 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. 11
Priest Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Priest (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name Priest +
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