| ![Show Contents]() Prestwood History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England The lineage of the name Prestwood begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in or near the priest's wood, or in Prestwood, a place-name found in Buckinghamshire and in Sussex. The place-name and the surname are derived from the Old English words preost, which meant priest, and wudu, which meant wood or forest. The surname means "dweller by the priest's wood." Early Origins of the Prestwood familyThe surname Prestwood was first found in Worcestershire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Prestwood. Little is recorded of their early history before the 13th century but the senior representative of the family was Reginald Prestwood who lived about 1400. The family moved at this point south to Devon where the main stem resided. The family also gave their name to Prestwood in Shropshire and Buckinghamshire. They also branched to Staffordshire. Early History of the Prestwood familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prestwood research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1570, 1608, 1628, 1629, 1655, 1692 and 1707 are included under the topic Early Prestwood History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Prestwood Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Prestwood has undergone many spelling variations, including Prestwood, Presswood, Prestwold, Presswold, Prestwald and many more. Early Notables of the Prestwood familyDistinguished members of the family include - Reginald Prestwood of Worcestershire
- Thomas Prestwood (c. 1570-1655), an English politician who was a Member of Parliament for Totnes (1628-1629), educated at Broadgates Hall, Oxford at the age of 15 (1608.)
Prestwood RankingIn the United States, the name Prestwood is the 16,773rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
 Prestwood migration to the United States | + |
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Prestwood were among those contributors:
Prestwood Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Joan Prestwood, who settled in Virginia in 1666
Prestwood Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Richard Prestwood, who was on record in Baltimore in 1749
| Contemporary Notables of the name Prestwood (post 1700) | + |
- Max Prestwood Jr., American racing driver who won the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship in 1990
- Hugh Prestwood, American country music songwriter
- Robert Prestwood (b. 1952), professional Australian Rules footballer
- Sir Charles Prestwood (1853-1931), civil servant and historian of Welsh extraction
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Prestwood migration to the United States 
