The name Pross is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to 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.
The surname Pross was first found in Hertfordshire, where they held a family seat before the Middle Ages.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pross research. Another 391 words (28 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1558, 1379, 1615, 1557, 1579, 1621, 1645 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Pross History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Pross include Preost, Priest, Prest, Preist, Prestt, Press and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include Agnes Prest (died 1557), an English Protestant martyr burned at the stake at Southernhay in Exeter; Degory Priest (ca. 1579-1621), A London...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pross Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Pross 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.
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Pross were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: