Prosser

Prosser may refer to:

Places

People

See Prosser (name)

Fictional characters

See also

Prosser (name)

Prosser is an English-language surname, derived from a Welsh-language patronym.

Origin

The English-language surname Prosser is considered to be a Welsh surname. The name originated as an Anglicisation of the Welsh-language ap Rhosier, or ap Rosser, both meaning son of Roger.

The English-language personal name Roger is derived from the Old French personal name Roger, Rogier. This personal name is of Germanic origin, derived from the elements hrōd ("fame") and gār, gēr ("spear"). The Old French name was adopted by the Normans, and was introduced into Britain by them in the Middle Ages (replacing the Old English cognate Hrōðgār). The name became one of the most popular masculine names in the Middle Ages, and lost popularity afterwards.

Until the Tudor period Welsh names generally took the format X son of Y, or X daughter of Y. The Old Welsh word for son was map, which later lost the initial letter to become ap. Although some of the Welsh gentry began to adopt the English fashion for hereditary surnames even before the Act of Union between England and Wales in 1536, in general the Act marked the beginning of a gradual shift towards hereditary surnames in Wales that was not complete until the 18th century. In some cases ap was merged into the following personal name to create an hereditary name. So Ap Richard became Pritchard, ap Even became Bevan and ap Hugh emerged as Pugh. The shift from ap Rosser to Prosser is of this pattern, though the surname Rosser also occurs. The distribution of Prosser and Rosser in 1842-46 was strongly centred in south-east Wales, and largely absent from other parts of Wales.