The Prather surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 15,860 people carried this name — #2,298 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,600 people counted. That is up 1% from 15,631 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

In the first U.S. census, 1790

26 families named Prather, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 159 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Maryland 21
North Carolina 3
Pennsylvania 1
Virginia 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 257 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Prather in American newspapers,
1881–1914.

Newspaper page from The Bossier Banner carrying the name Prather
The Bossier Banner 1881-01-13
Newspaper page from The Bossier Banner carrying the name Prather
The Bossier Banner 1881-04-14
Newspaper page from New Iberia Enterprise And Independent Observer carrying the name Prather
New Iberia Enterprise And Independent Observer 1914-10-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 58,053 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Prather in Australian newspapers,
1880s–1950s.

30 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Prather. The most, 10, date from the 1940s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 9
Queensland 7
South Australia 7
Victoria 4
Western Australia 3

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

Who carried it

People named Prather,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Victor Prather
    Victor Prather 1923–1961 · military officer
  • Carl L. Prather d. 2021 · mathematician
  • Matilda Prather 1811–1844
  • Catherine Cornelia Prather 1816–1844
  • Harry Logan Prather 1885–1959 · university teacher
  • Charles Lee Prather 1899–1978 · economist

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 Prather,
in the records of 4 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 States871 records

871 records of the Prather name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 592
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 224
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 17
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 15
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 9
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 8
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Lee Prather

    Born 1931; from Jefferson County, Kentucky. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in South Korea. Buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Kentucky.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Malcolm Prather

    Born 1913 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1942 at Louisville; route man from Jefferson County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1965, buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Kentucky.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Max Prather

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Normannia from Rotterdam, aged 24; butcher. From Dresden, Saxony, Germany; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 871 records for Prather in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands25 records

25 records of the Prather name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 15
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 10
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Herman Frederik Karel Prather

    Born 1890 in Nijmegen. Married in 1918 in Nijmegen; shop assistant. Died 1945 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 55; "natuurgeneeskundige".

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Anton Reinhold Prather

    Died 1907 in Nijmegen, aged 53; commercial traveller.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Jannette Rosina Prather

    In the population register of Lomatzsch Saxen; born in Amersfoort.

    Open Archives, Archief Eemland (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 25 records for Prather 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); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Germany11 records

11 records of the Prather name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Arthur Prather

    From Döbeln. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 17 February 1916; then reported dead in the list of 30 November 1917 (Infantry Regiment No. 118).

    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 Oswin Prather

    From Medessen, Großenhain. Reported wounded in the Saxon casualty list of 1 September 1916.

    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 Camillo Prather

    From Medessen, Großenhain. Reported dead in the Saxon casualty list of 28 October 1916.

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

Showing 3 of 11 records for Prather in Germany.

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

Canada1 record

1 record of the Prather name in Canada City of Calgary cemetery records
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Barney Prather

    Buried in 1930 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

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

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Prather.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Prather 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.

See the Prather volume
Scroll to Top