2000
#1,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,565
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.88
Uncommon Last name
Prater
An English occupational surname referring to a worker in a meadow or one who lives near a meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,026 Americans carry the last name Prater. That puts it at #1,923 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,301 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prater surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Prater with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,301
Census rank
#1,923
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,336 bearers of the surname Prater in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1923rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prater, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prater
The surname Prater is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the areas of Bavaria and Austria, during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Middle High German word "prâter," which means "one who prattles" or "a chatterbox." This suggests that the name was initially given as a nickname to someone who was known for excessive talking or gossiping.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Raitenbuch, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century, which mentions a person named Chunradus Prater. Additionally, the Prater surname appears in various historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries in southern Germany and Austria.
The name Prater is also associated with a famous public park in Vienna, Austria, known as the Prater. This park was originally a hunting ground for the Habsburg dynasty and was later opened to the public in the 16th century. It is believed that the name "Prater" was derived from the German word "Prater," meaning "meadow" or "pasture."
Notable individuals with the surname Prater throughout history include:
1. Hans Prater (c. 1445-1516), a German painter and engraver active in Nuremberg during the Renaissance period.
2. Johann Prater (1633-1704), a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg.
3. Christoph Prater (1722-1793), an Austrian botanist and physician who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy.
4. Karl Prater (1810-1866), an Austrian landscape painter known for his depictions of the Austrian countryside and the Prater park in Vienna.
5. August Prater (1828-1901), a German-American soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Atlanta in 1864.
While the surname Prater has its roots in Germany and Austria, it has since spread to various other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, the historical accounts and records mentioned above provide insights into the origin and early occurrences of this name, highlighting its linguistic and cultural significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prater
Among Census respondents with the surname Prater, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Prater bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Prater surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.5% · 14,390
- Black or African American13.1% · 2,409
- Two or more races4.5% · 834
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 499
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 133
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 71
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prater
Prater appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,484
+919 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 6.61
Rank movement Down 70 places
2020
#1,923
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,336
-1,148 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 6.13
Rank movement Down 84 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,769 | 18,565 | 6.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,839 | 19,484 | 6.61 | +919 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 70 places |
| 2020 | #1,923 | 18,336 | 6.13 | -1,148 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 84 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Prater surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,839 | #1,923 | -4.6% |
| Count | 19,484 | 18,336 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 6.61 | 6.13 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prater bearers went from 19,484 to 18,336 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 84 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,839 to #1,923.
FAQ
Prater surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prater?
Name Census estimates that about 21,026 living Americans carry the surname Prater. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,301 residents.
How common is Prater?
Prater ranks #1,923 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,336 people with the surname Prater. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,026), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Prater.
Has Prater become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prater went from 19,484 recorded bearers to 18,336. That is a decrease of 1,148 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,839 to #1,923.
What does the Census say about the background of Prater?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prater, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Prater in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.5% (14,390 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prater appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.5%), Black (13.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Prater (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Prater mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a worker in a meadow or one who lives near a meadow. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Prater (6.13 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Prater?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.