Prado History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. The original bearer of the name Prado, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. Localnames originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The Prado family originally lived in one of the places named Prado, which are found scattered throughout the Spanish provinces. There are numerous villages and towns named Prado in the provinces of Old Castile, Galicia, and Castile. The place-name Prado is derived from the Spanish word prado, which means meadow. 

Early Origins of the Prado family

The surname Prado was first found in Galicia, in the northwestern region of Spain.

Early History of the Prado family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prado research.

Prado Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Prado, de Prado, del Prado, Prada, de Prada, de la Prada, Prados, Pradas, Pradilla, Pradillo, Prades, de Prades, Pradera, Prat and many more.

Early Notables of the Prado family (pre 1700)

Prominent among members of the family was Margarita de Prades (1386-1430), wife of the last Aragonese King, Martin I; sixteenth century Spanish painter Blas de Prado; Juan de Prado y Mármol, created Count of Belmonte.

Prado Ranking

In the United States, the name Prado is the 2,358^thmost popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. [1]

 Prado migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were: 

Prado Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

• Alvaro de Prado, who sailed to America in 1512
• Benito de Prado, who sailed to America in 1513 with his wife and servants
• Pedro de Prado, who sailed to sailed to Hispaniola in 1534
• Diego de Prado, who sailed to Florida in 1538

Prado Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Raimundo Prado Díaz, who sailed to Puerto Rico in 1802
• Alvaro De Prado, who arrived in America in 1812 [2]
• Benito De Prado, who landed in America in 1813 [2]
• Francisco Del Prado, who arrived in America in 1813 [2]
• Gomez De Prado, who landed in America in 1813 [2]

Prado Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• Alberto Prado, aged 5, who landed in America, in 1904
• Amelio Prado, aged 37, who immigrated to the United States, in 1920
• Antonio Prado, aged 23, who landed in America, in 1920
• Aurelio Prado, aged 35, who settled in America, in 1921
• B. Prado, aged 27, who landed in America, in 1923

 Prado migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960’s many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [3]

Prado Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

• Pedro De Prado, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1834 [2]

Contemporary Notables of the name Prado (post 1700) +

• Edgar S. Prado (b. 1967), Peruvian-born, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey in thoroughbred horse racing
• Samuel Prado, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Delaware, 2004 [4]
• Raul Prado, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 117th District, 2002 [4]
• Miguel I. Prado, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 12th District, 1996 [4]
• Marta Prado, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1996, 2000 [4]
• Humberto Prado, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Mayor of Hammond, Indiana, 2011 [4]
• Edward C. Prado, American politician, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, 1981-84 [4]
• Anne del Prado, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 2004 [5]
• Julio Márquez de Prado Pérez (1948-2022), Spanish magistrate, president of the Extremaduran Hight Court of Justice between 2004 and 2020
• Martín Manuel Prado (b. 1983), Venezuelan Major League Baseball player for the Arizona Diamondbacks