Preece
A Welsh surname meaning “son of Rhys,” with Preece as a common English spelling of Price/Ap Rhys.
The #9,217 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 87,315 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Preece is generally explained as a Welsh patronymic from Ap Rhys, meaning “son of Rhys.” Over time, Ap Rhys was reduced and anglicized into forms such as Price, Pryce, Reece, and Preece. Some older writers also treated it as a variant linked to Rhys-related forms rather than a separate name in its own right.
History
The name is especially associated with Wales and border counties, where Welsh naming patterns were often reshaped into English spellings. Historical surname dictionaries commonly list Preece alongside Price and Reece as a spelling variant of the same Welsh family name. The form is recorded in English sources by the medieval and early modern periods and remains in use today.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname books explicitly gloss Preece as “the same as Price.”
From the historical record
“for an earlier ' Priesthouse.' PREECE, V. Ppees(e. PREEDY, the Welsh equiv. (Ap-Readie) of the Gael. IVIac Creadie, q.v. [Wei. ap, son] PREEN (Eng.) the A.-Sax. pers. name iV(6» [pern, a form of O.E- preon, m., a brooch, preen] (Celt.) Bel. to Preen ; or Dweller by a”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)