Show ContentsPrasad History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The region of ancient France known as Auvergne is where the name Prasad was born. Prasad 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 Prasad family

The surname Prasad 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 Prasad family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prasad 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 Prasad History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prasad Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Prasad is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include 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 Prasad family

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

Prasad Ranking

In the United States, the name Prasad is the 12,747th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in New Zealand, the name Prasad is ranked the 395th most popular surname with an estimated 1,658 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Prasad family

France finally gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the 1700s. 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, the Acadians 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 Prasad were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Prasad were Jacques Prate settled in Philadelphia in 1832; John Prat settled in Virginia in 1607.


Contemporary Notables of the name Prasad (post 1700) +

  • Ananda S. Prasad, American Democratic Party politician, Physician; Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 2008 3
  • Dr. Parameswara Venugopal Prasad M.B.E., British General Practitioner for Panton Surgery for Holywell, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for services to the community in Holywell 4
  • Narendra Prasad (1946-2003), popular Indian movie actor, playwright, director, teacher and literary critic
  • Satyadev Prasad (b. 1979), athlete from India
  • Diwakar Prasad (b. 1984), male amateur boxer from India
  • Ananda Shiv Prasad (b. 1928), Indian biochemist specialising in the role of zinc in the human metabolism
  • Doctor Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963), Indian statesman
  • Debi Prasad Pal (1927-2021), Senior Advocate practicing in the Supreme Court of India and High Courts of India


The Prasad 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. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  4. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 4 July 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1


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