Pratt
A surname with two old explanations: it may come from a word for a meadow, or from an old word meaning clever or tricky.
The #541 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,006 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Pratt is usually explained in one of two ways. Some writers connect it with Old French prat, from Latin pratum, meaning “meadow,” making it a locational or topographic name for someone living by a meadow. Others connect it with an Old English word pratt, meaning “cunning” or “a trick,” which would make it a nickname surname. The historical evidence is mixed, so both explanations have been proposed for different lines or spellings.
History
Pratt is well established in English records and is especially common in England. Nineteenth-century surname scholars disagreed about its source: some preferred the meadow derivation, while others argued for the older English nickname sense. The name also appears in French-related forms such as Prat and Duprat, which may have encouraged confusion or overlap.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
It has been discussed by several classic surname writers because two very different roots look plausible for the same spelling.
From the historical record
“PRATT (Fr.-Lat.) Dweller at a Meadow [O.Fr. prat (Fr. pr^, Lat. prat-um (a mea- dow), whence also South. Fr. prat, Ital. prato, Span, prado'] Prat and Duprat are common French surnames. Marquis de Prat.— Pam Directory. Cp. Pray.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Pratt
- Chris Pratt (b. 1979)
- Boris Karloff (1887–1969)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.