Prettie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Scotland

Etymology of Prettie

The history of the name Prettie goes back those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain. Such a name was given to a crafty or cunning individual. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English word prætig, which meant crafty or cunning. 1 Some variants of the name have the suffix man appended to them; this seems to have occurred sometime in the late 15th or early 16th centuries.

Another source claims "the name, however, has nothing to do with prettiness, but is derived from the Latin pratum, a meadow. The Prettys of Scotland and Ireland are of English origin." 2

Early Origins of the Prettie family

Early History of the Prettie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prettie research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1192, 1612, 1661 and 1676 are included under the topic Early Prettie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prettie 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 Prettie family name include Prettyman, Pretyman, Pretty and others.

Early Notables of the Prettie family

Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Prettie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Prettie family

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. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Prettie or a variant listed above: Edward Pretty settled in New England in 1654; Thomas and Penelope Pretty settled in Virginia in 1654; George Pretty settled in Virginia in 1607; thirteen years before the ".