A “prepper” is someone who prepares to survive a disaster, such as food shortages or a terrorist attack. The term became popular in 2012 with the National Geographic Channel television show, Doomsday Preppers.
 
“Prepper” has been cited in print since at least 1999, when it referred to preparing for the Year 2000 problem.
   
 
Greenspun.com
The end of the first white-LED bulk-buy…
Greetings all you Y2K preppers! OddOne here, back on the attack and yet again talking about white LEDs…
(...) 
—OddOne (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)), May 05, 1999
 
Survivalist Forum
Josiah922
11-18-2007, 11:56 AM
Was Noah the first prepper?
OK I don’t know how biblical this is. Frankly, it was just something that hit me in Sunday School this morning
 
New York (NY) Times
She’s Ready: Just Add Water
By STEVEN KURUTZ
Published: July 31, 2008
Cummington, Mass.
(...)
“I don’t expect someone to drop a nuke on me,” said Mrs. Harrison, 56, an energetic and upbeat woman who calls herself a prepper rather than a doomer. “But after 9/11 — and certainly after Hurricane Katrina — I realized that, holy smoke, the cavalry doesn’t always charge in to rescue you.”
 
The Daily Beast
Survivalism Lite
By Jessica Bennett
Dec 27, 2009 7:00 PM EST
They call themselves ‘preppers.’ They are regular people with homes and families. But like the survivalists that came before them, they’re preparing for the worst.
     
Taipei Times
Sun, Jul 11, 2010
Many prepare for the collapse of civilization
AFP , WASHINGTON
(...)
They label themselves “preppers,” “doomers,” and “survivalists,” and take a variety of different approaches to the same question: How best to prepare for the coming apocalypse?
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The prepper’s pocket guide : 101 easy things you can do to ready your home for a disaster
Author: Bernie Carr
Publisher: Berkeley, CA : Ulysses Press : distributed by Publishers Group West, ©2011.
Edition/Format:   Book : EnglishView all editions and formats
Summary:
Guides readers in preparing for disasters, including developing plans, calculating how much water is needed, and making a disinfectant cleaner from emergency kit items.
   
FoNews.com
Bunker Mentality: The booming business of Doomsday
By Perry Chiaramonte
Published March 07, 2012
(...)
Some have embraced the term “preppers,” although precisely what they are preparing for varies.
(...)
Jobe, who will be featured on an upcoming episode of the NatGeo’s “Doomsday Preppers,” has invested about $3,000 in a safe room in the cellar of his family’s Colorado home
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Doomsday Preppers Complete Survival Manual Expert Tips for Surviving Calamity, Catastrophe, and the End of the World.
Author: Sweeney, Michael
Publisher: Natl Geographic Society 2012.
Edition/Format:   Book : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The prepper’s pocket companion : how to prepare for the end of the world as we know it
Author: Kate Rowinski
Publisher: New York, NY : Skyhorse, [2012]
Edition/Format:   Book : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Prepper’s Home Defense Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary.
Author: Cobb, Jim
Publisher: Ulysses Pr 2012.
Edition/Format:   Book : English
 
My Incredible Website
The Difference Between an Optimist, a Pessimist, and a Prepper
Pinned on September 29, 2012 at 5:43 am by johnkremer
An optimist believes the light at the end of the tunnel is a sunny day waiting for them.
 
A pessimist believes the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train.
 
A prepper knows it could be either one and is ready with sunglasses and a plan to ride the train outta there!
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The Prepper’s Cookbook 101 Recipes to Turn Your Emergency Food into Nutritious, Delicious, Life-saving Meals.
Author: Pennington, Tess
Publisher: Ulysses Pr 2013.
Edition/Format:   Book : English