Surname Prestwood - Meaning and Origin
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Prestwood: What does the surname Prestwood mean?
The last name Prestwood is of English origin, derived from a location in the county of Staffordshire. It is believed to refer to 'the power wood' or 'prest wode', indicating the presence of a fortified settlement nearby. It is likely the area was associated with a prest, or a prominent individual or family who held power in the area, hence the creation of the name Prestwood.
Today, Prestwood is a common surname throughout England and other anglophone countries. As a surname, Prestwood almost certainly suggests English ancestry. As is common for English surnames, the name is likely to refer to the holder's place of origin.
Various locations in England have been called Prestwood, including a parish in Somerset, a village in Surrey, and a hamlet in Staffordshire. Prestwood is also a popular name choice in both England and America.
The Prestwood surname is mostly likely derived from the area of the same name in Staffordshire, indicating its status as a prosperous and prominent area. The rural community of Prestwood is located in the rural countryside between Birmingham and Wolverhampton - two major cities in England's West Midlands region. Residents of Prestwood have contributed their surname to many areas beyond the United Kingdom, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Order DNA origin analysisPrestwood: Where does the name Prestwood come from?
The last name Prestwood is most commonly found in the United States today. It appears to have originated in England, but it is not certain when it arrived in the US or how widely it was used before the 20th century.
The number of Prestwoods is much lower than many other more common last names in the US. According to the 2019 United States Census, only 818 people with the Prestwood surname were recorded living in the US that year. Over half of them (468) resided in Illinois, making that state by far the most populous of those with the Prestwood name. Other states where large numbers of Prestwoods were reported included Texas and New York.
The estimated number of Prestwoods in the UK is a little higher; there were 1,140 Prestwood citizens recorded in the most recent census in 2019. The majority of these were found in the county of Norfolk, but there were also sizeable numbers of the name found in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Suffolk.
In addition, there have been numerous occurrences of the Prestwood name in Australia among those whose ancestors migrated there from England. It appears that the number of people possessing the last name Prestwood today—whether they reside in the US, the UK, Australia, or elsewhere—is relatively small.
Variations of the surname Prestwood
The surname Prestwood is a habitational name derived from Prestwood, a place in Buckinghamshire, England. It could have been used as a generic term for someone who had moved to a new area, or as a locational surname for someone who originally hails from this area. Variations of this surname can be found in other countries, including the United States and Canada.
Variations of Prestwood include Preswood, Preistwood, Prestwode, Prestwud, Preswoode, Pristwood, Pristwode, Pristwud, Priestwood, Priestwode, and Priestwud. These names may have been derived from similar sounding names in other languages or dialects, as the pronunciation of Prestwood has altered over time.
Other spellings and variants of the surname may exist, such as Prestwudh, Prestwoode, Pristwudh, Prustwood, Priestwoode, and Priestwudh. Additionally, there are a few other surnames with similar spellings and origins, including Prustwood, Prestewood, Preestwood, Prestwoode, and Prestwood.
Though the spelling may vary from place to place, these all share the same origin and likely refer to the same family or regional group. Knowing the different variations of a surname can be a great help in tracing one’s genealogical heritage.
Famous people with the name Prestwood
- Stephen Prestwood, tennis player from the United Kingdom
- Shannon Prestwood, professional tennis player and coach from the United States
- Taine Prestwood, former professional baseball player from New Zealand
- Geoff Prestwood, American musician, songwriter and producer
- Con Prestwood, American musician and arranger
- Rick Prestwood, American former NFL offensive guard and tackle
- Tony Prestwood, former AFL (Australian Football League) footballer
- Paul Prestwood, former chief engineer of independent British car company Panther Westwinds
- William Prestwood, former British Member of Parliament
- Jackson Prestwood, former professional American basketball player