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Price (surname)

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Price is a patronymic name derived from the Welsh "ap Rhys" meaning "son of Rhys". The given name Rhys means "enthusiasm" in Welsh. It is a common surname among those of Welsh ancestry.[1] At the time of the British Census of 1881,[2] its frequency was highest in Radnorshire (38.2 times the British average), followed by Brecknockshire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Flintshire, Shropshire, Denbighshire, Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire and Worcestershire. The surname has many other spellings including Priess, Priesz, and many others.

The name is thought to have originally been spelled "Pryce" and pronounced "Preese". Name experts believe that the change of the "y" to "i" and the subsequent change in pronunciation was originally an affectation meant to make the name seem more English and therefore more prestigious.[3]

Notable people named Price

In fiction

  • Eglantine Price, a fictional character from the Walt Disney classic, Bedknobs and Broomsticks
  • Captain John Price, fictional leader of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment in the 2007 video game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  • Fanny Price, protagonist of Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  • Homer Price, a fictional children's book character
  • One of the trio of "Whitman, Price, and Haddad", "last season's winners" on the fictional TV show The Running Man

See also

References

  1. ^ An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import; Arthur, William, M.A.; New York, NY: Sheldon, Blake, Bleeker & CO., 1857
  2. ^ "Price Surname Meaning". forebears.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2014
  3. ^ Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-19-211592-8.