The Prater surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,484 people carried this name — #1,839 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,100 people counted. That is up 5% from 18,565 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Prater surname

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as an Anglo-French and Latin name: ‘Priest’.

For the French prêtre.

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 90 · public domain.

In national population registers

34 people named Prater is counted in Slovenia.

Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.

Counted, by country

Slovenia (2026) 34

Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Prater in American newspapers,
1873–1907.

Newspaper page from St. Landry Clarion carrying the name Prater
St. Landry Clarion 1907-08-17
Newspaper page from Morning Appeal carrying the name Prater
Morning Appeal 1902-08-09
Newspaper page from The New York Herald carrying the name Prater
The New York Herald 1873-05-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Prater in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

9,232 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Prater. The most, 2,336, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Western Australia, at 4.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 3,970
Victoria 1,779
New South Wales 1,594
South Australia 1,172
Queensland 378
Tasmania 294
ACT (Canberra) 37
Northern Territory 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Prater.

Who carried it

People named Prater,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William James Prater
    William James Prater 1881–1950 · photographer
  • William James Prater
    William James Prater 1881–1950 · photographer
  • Dave Prater
    Dave Prater 1937–1988 · musician
  • Ernest Prater 1864–1950 · illustrator
  • Dickie Prater 1931–2023 · basketball player
  • Dean Prater 1958–1996 · American football player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Prater,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States834 records

834 records of the Prater name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 586
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 182
  • Other U.S. records 66
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Howard W. Prater

    Born 1905 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Sacramento, California; oilers of machinery. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at White Cemetery, Gore, Oklahoma.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Calvin Ray Prater

    Born 1950; from Kerman, California. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Heinrich Prater

    Arrived at New York in 1861 aboard the Herman from Bremen, aged 49; farmer. From Leutenberg, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 834 records for Prater in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands245 records

245 records of the Prater name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 127
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 116
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Barber Susanna Prater

    Married in 1898 in Gaasterland. Died 1899 in Oudemirdum, aged 31.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Eesge Prater

    Married in 1849 in Dordrecht. Died 1857 in Rotterdam, aged 40.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Rivierenland (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jacob Marten Prater

    Died 1826 in Groningen, aged 87.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 245 records for Prater in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia115 records

115 records of the Prater name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 56
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 44
  • Other Australian records 15
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Elizabeth Prater

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the William Bryan, sailing from London in 1833. Native of Sheffield, Yorkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1836.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Fred A. Prater

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Red Jacket, aged 28; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ernest Renney Prater

    Farmer of Swan Hill, Victoria; died 1991.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 115 records for Prater in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Germany35 records

35 records of the Prater name in Germany
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 34
  • German emigration and citizenship files 1
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Otto Prater

    From Naumburg. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 7 April 1917; then reported taken prisoner in the list of 24 May 1917; then listed as returned from captivity in the German casualty list of 25 June 1919 (Infantry Regiment No. 26).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Walter Prater

    From Wendisch-Carsdorf, Dippoldiswalde. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 8 November 1914 (Infantry Regiment No. 66).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Alfred Hermann Prater

    From Jeßnitz, Amtshauptmannschaft Meißen. Reported missing in the Saxon casualty list of 17 September 1914 (Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 102).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 35 records for Prater in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) · Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Prater name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Susan Prater

    Buried in 1822 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 46.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Prater

    Pioneer, Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. A. Prater

    Gunner, Rifle Brigade. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Prater in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Prater name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Joseph A. Prater

    Buried in 1941 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Harold Prater

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Charles W. Prater

    Buried in 1959 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Prater in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Prater.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Prater is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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