Contents [hide]

Prosser History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Prosser History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

Etymology of Prosser

What does the name Prosser mean?

The Welsh name Prosser is a patronymic surname created from the Welsh personal name Rosser, which also took the form Rhosier. The surname Prosser was originally ap-Rosser or ap-Rhosier: the distinctive Welsh patronymic prefix "ab" or "ap," means "son of," but the prefix has been assimilated into the surname over the course of time. There has also been suggestion that the name is a Welsh transformation of the Gaelic name "Mac Ruaidhri."

Early Origins of the Prosser family

The surname Prosser was first found in Herefordshire, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects. The form Rosser was found in Chancery, where a Morres Rosser was recorded in Wales in 1100, in the "Calendar of Proceedings in Chancery" published during the reign of Elizabeth I in the 16th century.

Early History of the Prosser family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prosser research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1200 and 1237 are included under the topic Early Prosser History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prosser Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Prosser have included Prosser, Prousser, Proser, Prouser, Prossar, Rosser, Roser, Rossear and many more.

Early Notables of the Prosser family

Prosser of Belmont

Prosser Ranking

the United States, the name Prosser is the 4,085^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Prosser migration to the United States +

North America in the 1800s and 1900s saw the arrival of many Welsh people hoping to share in the wealth of land, work, and freedom that they felt North America held. Those who made the journey often attained those expectations, but only through an enormous amount of hard work, perseverance, and often a bout of good luck. These immigrants helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and culture of both Canada and the United States. Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Prosser:

Prosser Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jane Prosser, who arrived in Virginia in 1628 3
George Prosser, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Morris Prosser, who landed in Virginia in 1638 3
William Prosser, who settled in Virginia in 1654
Phillip Prosser, who landed in Virginia in 1658 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prosser Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Elis Prosser, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 3
Anthony Prosser, who arrived in Virginia in 1713 3
Jonathan Prosser, who arrived in America in 1765 3

Prosser Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Prosser, aged 27, who landed in New York in 1812 3
Francis H Prosser, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1866 3
William Prosser, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1869 3
George Prosser, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1870 3
Owen Prosser, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1870 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prosser migration to Canada +

Prosser Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mary Prosser, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Mr. Richard Prosser U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 4

Prosser migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Second Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Second Fleet

Mr. Joseph Prosser, British settler convicted in London, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for pick pocketing, transported aboard the ship "Active" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 2

Following the Second Fleet, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Prosser Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Elizabeth Prosser, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Thomas Prosser, (b. 1779), aged 28, Welsh labourer who was convicted in Brecon (Brecknock), Powys, Wales for life, transported aboard the "Duke of Portland" in January 1807, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Thomas Prosser, English plaisterer who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Baring" in April 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. George Prosser, British Convict who was convicted in New Radnor (Radnor), Powys, Wales for 7 years, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Miss Jane Prosser, British settler who was convicted in Somerset, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Frances Charlotte" on 30th August 1832, arriving in Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prosser 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:

Prosser Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. George Prosser, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Prince Alfred" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand in 1858 10
Mr. Prosser, Australian settler travelling from Melbourne, Victoria aboard the ship "Dunedin" arriving in Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand on 18th December 1861 11
William Prosser, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Annie Wilson" in 1863
Joseph Prosser, aged 34, a cabinet maker, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Eveline" in 1865 12
Mary Prosser, aged 28, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Eveline" in 1865 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prosser 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. 13

Prosser Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Thmoas Prosser, (b. 1614), aged 20, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Prosser (post 1700) +

David Thomas Prosser Jr. (1942-2024), American lawyer, jurist, and Republican politician from Appleton, Wisconsin, Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1998-2016)
William H. Prosser, American politician, Mayor of Altoona, Pennsylvania in 1964 14
William Lloyd Prosser (1898-1972), American Dean of the School of Law at UC Berkeley from 1948 to 1961
Seward Prosser (1871-1942), American banker and philanthropist
George Edward "Skip" Prosser (1950-2007), American college basketball coach
George Henry Prosser (1867-1941), Australian businessman and politician 15
Halley H. Prosser (1870-1921), American politician
Ian Prosser (b. 1957), Scottish-born American florist who worked at the 1993 Inauguration
Erastus Sabinus Prosser (1809-1888), American politician
... (Another 31 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Prosser family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Prosser, British Air Mechanician, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 15
Mr. William Prosser (b. 1885), Welsh coal miner from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died 16

Sources +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duke-of-portland
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 4th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Universal Colliery Senghenydd 1913 disaster retrieved 21st September 2019, retrieved from http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/deathrolls/SenghenyddDead1913.htm