The origins of the Welsh name Penrice go back to the ancient Celtic culture that existed in the hills and moors of Wales. The forbears that initially held the name Penrice once lived in or near either the manor of Pen-rhys in the county of Glamorgan, or in one of the places called Penrose in Cornwall or Devonshire. The surname Penrice belongs to the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. From the beautiful Welsh mountain ranges comes the distinguished Penrice surname. Wales is a land of soft spoken, music-loving poets, a people famous for their bards, Eisteddfods (Music Festivals) and their choral groups.

After the exodus of the Romans in the 5th century AD., the ancient Britons were left in possession of Western England, present day Wales and Cumbria, while the Germanic invaders, the Saxons, Jutes and Angles continued a determined invasion from the south-east of England. It was in the year 616, and the Battle of Chester, that the Celts were divided, and Wales, though still a group of kingdoms, came to be a distinct nation. Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great), was the first great Welsh warrior king. In 855, through skillful alliances and practical marriages, he became the king of Powys and much of the rest of Wales. On his death he gave Wales to his three sons, Anarawd became King of North Wales, Cadalh became King of South Wales and Mervyn became King of Powys, or mid Wales.

The history of the ancestors of the Penrice family begins in the ancient Welsh chronicles. The name Penrice was first found in Glamorganshire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Researchers reviewed manuscripts such as the Domesday Book, the Pipe Rolls, Hearth Rolls, the Black Book of the Exchequer, the Curia Regis Rolls, and that the Family name, Penrice, was found several different spellings. Examples of these spelling variations of Penrice include Penrice, Penrise and many of these versions are still in use today. These changes in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son. It was not uncommon for a person in his or her own lifetime to be born with one spelling, marry with another, and have still another on the headstone in his or her resting place.

In the 13th century the princes of Gwynedd came very close to uniting Wales and the last of their line, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, called himself the Prince of Wales. When Edward I became king, Llywelyn refused to do homage to him. The King besieged the natural fortress of Gwynedd in 1277, and in November of that year Llywelyn was killed. His head was sent to London for display as that of a traitor.

Edward proved to be an onerous overlord over Wales, and Llywelyn's younger brother David, touched off a spirited but unsuccessful general revolt. This time the King’s victory was complete and Wales was to exist under an alien political system, playing a subordinate role in the kingdom of England. A great number of impressive fortresses were then erected by Edward throughout Wales to eliminate any possibility of further revolt. In 1301, King Edward made his son, Lord Edward (who had been born at Caernarfon Castle), Prince of Wales and Count of Chester, and ever since that date, these titles have been automatically conferred upon the first-born son of the English monarch.

In this era, bearers of the Welsh family name Penrice could be found in Glamorgan where they were recorded as at family of great antiquity seated as Lords of the manor Pen-rhys and at Penrice Castle and estates in that shire. Sir John Penrice was anciently the scion of the family. The main stem of the family lost their estates by marriage of the heiress to Sir Hugh Mansel and junior lines of the family branched to Worcestershire and thence to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, and Kilvrough House in Glamorgan, and Plumstead House in Norfolk. Prominent bearers of the family name during the late Middle Ages included Thomas Penrice of Kivrough House, a gallant solder in the Peninsula campaign under the Duke of Wellington.

For the next two or three centuries the surname Penrice flourished and played an important role in local politics and in the affairs of Britain in general. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries England and Wales were ravaged by religious conflict. The power of the Church, and the Crown, their assessments, tithes, and demands, imposed a heavy burden on rich and poor alike. They looked to the New World for their salvation. Some, such as Captain Morgan, even became the pirates who roamed the West Indies. Others, attracted by economic opportunities, moved eastward into the English cities.

Some went to Ireland where they were granted lands previously owned by the Catholic Irish. The name Penrice may well have arrived in Ireland following the 13th century invasion with the "Welshmen of Hy-Amhalgaidh MicFiachrach," who settled in Ireland. Most of these names were transformed in Irish Gaelic names. Others of Welsh heritage were among those who came to Ireland in successive waves of immigration from the 13th to the 17th centuries.

Many went directly from Wales, while others left from Ireland. They sailed to the New World across the stormy Atlantic in the tiny sailing ships which were to become known as the "White Sails." These overcrowded ships, built for 100 but sometimes crammed with 400 and 500 people, spending two months at sea, were wracked with disease, sometimes landing with only 60 to 70% of the original passenger list. Among early settlers of North America bearing the Penrice family name were John Penrice settled in Virginia in 1623; Robert Penrice settled in Virginia in 1630; Lawrence Penrice settled in Virginia in 1751.

Notable contemporaries bearing this name include: Geoffrey Penrice, Statistician.

The Motto for the Coat of Arms translates as: Safely and quickly.