Last name PRIEST: origin and meaning

Priest : English (mainly West Midlands): nickname from Middle English pr(i)est ‘minister of the Church’ (Old English prēost from Latin presbyter Greek presbyteros ‘elder counselor’ comparative of presbys ‘old man’). It may have denoted someone with a pious manner or possibly for someone who had played the part of a priest in a pageant. It may occasionally have been used to denote someone suspected of being the son of a priest but evidence for this is lacking.

Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England

ncG1vNJzZmidnmO0prrEmqWerF6kv6h70q6pp5mdmsBwnNGinKys