Pringle
A chiefly Scottish surname, most likely from a form meaning “pilgrim,” though a local-name origin has also been suggested.
The #2,750 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,541 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Older writers offered two main explanations. One line of thought connects Pringle with an older form meaning “pilgrim,” from Old French or Middle English pelerin/pilgrim, perhaps with a prefix like Hop- in older spellings such as Hop-pringle. Harrison, however, thought that explanation doubtful and preferred to see Pringle as related to Pring with a diminutive suffix -el. The name also appears in older Scottish spellings such as Prynkayle and Pringel, which show how unstable the form was in the medieval and early modern record.
History
The name is strongly associated with the south of Scotland and is well established there in historical sources. Early scholars were divided over whether it was a nickname, a patronymic form, or an altered occupational or byname form, and some linked it to the old Scottish silver coin called a pringle. In modern surname studies, it is usually treated as a Scottish surname of uncertain but probably medieval origin, with the “pilgrim” explanation often mentioned but not universally accepted.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old sources note that a pringle was also the name of a small Scottish silver coin worth about a penny.
From the historical record
“(Fr.) = Ppin(n (q.v.) with added E. -^. PRINGLE, a Scottish surname, was supposed by MacBain to be a corrupt form of the O.F. pelegrin, a pilgrim ; but this is ex- tremely doubtful. The name rather = Pring (q.v.) with the dim. suff. -el. A pringle was formerly a small Scottish silver coin worth about a penny. PRINK…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)