Pryce Name Meaning & Historical Trends

Pryce

Pronunciation: PRYSS

Meaning Son of Rhys Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#2,707
TREND
23
GIRLS RANK
#16,693
TREND
336

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Pryce in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Pryce

  • More than 1 thousand babies named Pryce: U.S. records list 1,337 babies given the name Pryce from 1880 through 2025. Even 55 girls received the name Pryce - about 1 girl for every 23 boys.

What Does the Name Pryce Mean?

Pryce means "son of Rhys" and comes from Welsh. It is a variant spelling of the Welsh surname Price, which developed from the patronymic phrase ap Rhys: ap means "son of," and Rhys is a Welsh personal name recorded in Old Welsh as Ris. The literal sense is therefore patronymic, not descriptive; the name does not itself mean "price" or "value," despite its resemblance to the English word price.

The personal name Rhys has an uncertain etymology. It is often explained as coming from a Welsh word for "ardour" or "enthusiasm," but that derivation is not universally accepted. A separate English nickname origin from Middle English pris "price, value" is sometimes recorded for the surname Price, but the Welsh patronymic explanation is the usual one for Pryce. Any meaning beyond "son of Rhys" belongs to the parent name or to a competing explanation, not to Pryce itself.

Pryce Name History & Origins

Pryce belongs to the group of Welsh surnames formed from patronymics. In medieval Wales, a person was commonly identified as the son of his father: for example, Rhys ap Tewdwr means Rhys son of Tewdwr. A son of a man named Rhys could be called [name] ap Rhys. When such patronymics became fixed as hereditary surnames, a process well under way by the 16th century, ap Rhys was reduced and anglicized in several ways. The ap was frequently fused with the following name, giving forms such as Prys, Price, and Pryce; the same pattern produced Welsh surnames like Powell from ap Hywel and Pritchard from ap Richard.

The spelling Pryce shows Welsh influence and later English pronunciation, in which the name came to sound like the English word price. The underlying personal name Rhys was borne by medieval Welsh rulers, including Rhys ap Tewdwr (died 1093) and Rhys ap Gruffydd, called the Lord Rhys (1132 - 1197). Rhys remained a traditional Welsh given name, while surname forms such as Price and Pryce spread beyond Wales.

As a first name, Pryce is a transferred use of the surname. It follows the wider practice in English-speaking countries of using Welsh surnames as given names. In Wales itself, the traditional given name from this root is Rhys, not Pryce; the two are related, but Pryce's use as a first name developed later and separately from the surname.

How Popular is the Name Pryce?

Pryce has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2020. Its best rank was #1,973 in 2020.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

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How the Name Pryce Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You have a power of expression, either in speaking or writing. You are in favor for studying and research. You are clever, clear-sighted and intellectual. You don't like to let others know your true feelings. You might be atheistic or agnostic. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.

Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.

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