The Pringle surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,115 people carried this name — #2,750 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 22,500 people counted. That is up 5% from 12,460 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Pringle surname

As an English and Welsh surname

An early record he cites: Alanus Prynkayle, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 623 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

28 people named Pringle is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 28

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Pringle was found among the farmers of Northumberland: 44 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northumberland 44

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland, 1880s

Pringle was 13 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 769. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “South of the Forth and the Clyde.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 593 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Pringle was recorded 37 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 684th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 76. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

26 Pringle families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 155 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. 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

South Carolina 9
New York 4
Pennsylvania 3
Maryland 3
Virginia 3
North Carolina 3
Connecticut 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. 258 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Pringle in American newspapers,
1908–1913.

Newspaper page from Palestine Daily Herald carrying the name Pringle
Palestine Daily Herald 1908-08-21
Newspaper page from Audubon County Journal carrying the name Pringle
Audubon County Journal 1913-06-12
Newspaper page from The Beatrice Daily Express carrying the name Pringle
The Beatrice Daily Express 1908-07-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 63,759 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Pringle in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

27,264 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pringle. The most, 4,667, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 9,063
Queensland 5,314
Victoria 5,237
Tasmania 3,478
Western Australia 2,032
South Australia 1,906
ACT (Canberra) 175
Northern Territory 15

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

Who carried it

People named Pringle,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James M. J. Pringle d. 1970 · photographer
  • Robert Pringle d. 1736 · politician
  • Robert Pringle d. 1771 · barrister
  • Isobel Mary Pringle d. 1965
  • Elizabeth Pringle d. 1914
  • Reginald James Pringle d. 1980

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Pringle,
in the records of 7 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 States1,289 records

1,289 records of the Pringle name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 366
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 257
  • Other U.S. records 666
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Emmett Terence Pringle

    Born 1950; from San Francisco, California. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    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 Earl H. Pringle

    Born 1921 in New York. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; window dresser from New York County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1992, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Alfred W. Pringle

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Princess Alice from Cherbourg, aged 42; butcher. From Toronto, Canada.

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

Showing 3 of 1,289 records for Pringle in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Australia957 records

957 records of the Pringle name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 583
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 169
  • Other Australian records 205
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James Jones Pringle

    Died 1870 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 50. Will registered in Tasmania in 1870.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Charles Lempriere Pringle

    Born 1847 in Tasman, Tasmania. Married 1867 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 20.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Red Jacket, aged 37; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 957 records for Pringle 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada192 records

192 records of the Pringle name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 97
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 26
  • Other Canadian records 69
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Chas Pringle

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Polynesian, bound for Brantford, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record May Pringle

    Buried in 1971 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 91.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jane Pringle

    Died 1905 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 192 records for Pringle in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom44 records

44 records of the Pringle name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 18
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 14
  • Other British records 12
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Pringle

    Born 1849 at Durness. Served in the First World War. Named in the University of Aberdeen roll of service in the Great War, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Hogarth Pringle

    Died 1941, aged 78; buried at Killearn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record D. Pringle

    Royal Scots. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

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

Showing 3 of 44 records for Pringle in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · 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: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands42 records

42 records of the Pringle name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 22
  • Dutch population registers 16
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 4
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Catharina Jeane Pringle

    Married in 1890 in Nijmegen; born 1852 in Paramaribo (Suriname). Died 1911 in Nijmegen, aged 59.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Catharina Maria Pringle

    Married in 1883 in 's-Gravenhage. Died 1937 in Renkum, aged 77.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Karel Pringle

    Born 1862 in Arnhem. Married in 1890 in Nijmegen; engineer. Died 1942 in Renkum, aged 79.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 42 records for Pringle 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).

New Zealand18 records

18 records of the Pringle name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 15
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alexander Pringle

    Died 1973, aged 74; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Pringle

    Buried in 1956 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 74.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record A. Pringle

    Corporal, New Zealand Infantry. 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 18 records for Pringle in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

France1 record

1 record of the Pringle name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Margaret Pringle

    Born 1924 in the United Kingdom; died 1990 in Alès (Gard).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Pringle.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Pringle 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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