Pruitt surname meaning

Pruitt is an English nickname spelling, rare in Britain but common in the United States, treated in surname dictionaries as a variant of Prewitt. Prewitt itself is a diminutive of Prew, Prue, or Prow, from Middle English prou, preu, or prue—words meaning brave, valiant, or proud, ultimately from Old French. The -itt ending marks a “little” form of that praise-name, so the sense is roughly “little brave one” or “the proud.” Prewett, Pruett, and Prueitt are sister spellings. Nickname is the catalog type, and the Prewitt/Prue chain is high confidence.