Fun Facts About the Name Pryor
- 540 babies named Pryor: U.S. records list 540 babies given the name Pryor from 1880 through 2025. Even 56 girls received the name Pryor - about 1 girl for every 9 boys.
What Does the Name Pryor Mean?
Pryor is an English family name, and as a first name it is normally a transferred use of that surname. The surname comes from Middle English priour, borrowed from Old French prior (also prieur), which goes back to Latin prior. That Latin word meant "former, earlier" and, by extension, "superior"; it is a comparative built from prius, "before." In medieval religious life a prior was the head of a priory, a monastic house governed by a prior rather than an abbot.
As a surname the word was chiefly an occupational or status name: it could identify someone who served or worked for a prior, or it could be a nickname for a person who acted in a lordly, haughty manner, by comparison with the authority of the office. The literal sense behind the name is therefore an office and its holder, not a personal quality; any later reading of the name as suggesting dignity or authority is an interpretation added on top of that etymology.
Pryor Name History & Origins
Latin prior entered Old French as prior and prieur, and from there passed into Middle English as priour and prior. Surnames formed from this word are recorded in England from the 12th and 13th centuries onward, in the spellings Prior, Pryor, Pryer, and Prier. The y in Pryor is one of several established English spellings of the same name and reflects the same pronunciation; it is not a separate origin.
English surnames moved into use as first names in Britain and, more heavily, in North America, where transferred family names became a common source of given names. Pryor fits that pattern rather than a religious or literary one. The surname itself also appears in American place names, including Pryor Creek in Oklahoma and the Pryor Mountains in Montana, both associated with the Pryor family of the early nineteenth-century frontier.
How Popular is the Name Pryor?
Pryor recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2019. Its best rank was #977 in 1881.
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.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #13,091 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #11,020 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #10,934 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #11,880 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2019 | #13,466 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #15,223 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #17,838 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #18,236 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,554 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2024 | #5,584 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2023 | #5,607 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2022 | #4,812 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2021 | #4,335 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2020 | #4,384 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2019 | #2,838 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 2018 | #3,152 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 2017 | #5,718 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #6,271 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2015 | #8,555 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #6,224 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #8,603 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #11,908 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #6,904 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #10,478 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #8,146 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2008 | #8,146 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #13,897 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2006 | #10,381 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #11,123 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #10,987 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #10,532 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #5,664 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1957 | #4,417 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1950 | #3,600 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #3,246 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1945 | #3,239 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1940 | #3,064 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1929 | #3,861 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1928 | #4,045 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #4,096 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #3,088 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1925 | #3,661 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1924 | #3,776 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #4,818 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1921 | #3,438 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1920 | #4,172 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #3,320 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1918 | #3,307 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1916 | #3,798 | 6 | 0.0007% |
| 1915 | #3,738 | 6 | 0.0007% |
| 1914 | #3,637 | 5 | 0.0008% |
| 1913 | #2,449 | 7 | 0.0014% |
| 1908 | #1,552 | 5 | 0.0032% |
| 1881 | #977 | 5 | 0.0050% |
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 Pryor 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.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Pryor's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Pryor's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.