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Origin: |
Frederick is the Anglicised form of the Old Germanic name Frithuric. It was popular on the Continent and brought to Britain by the Normans where it merged with the Old English form Friðuric. Both names were composed of the elements derived from the same Proto-Germanic etymological route: *frithu "peace, friendship" and *rīkia- "mighty, distinguished, rich, ruler, leader." It was Latinised from at least the 9th century as Fridericus and Fredericus. |
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Usage: |
Though it is generally accepted that the Normans reinforced the name Frederick -- already well used in Europe thanks to St Frederick -- Britain, there are some examples that show the Old English Friðuric was already in use. Documents between 675 and 691 show that when the church of Breedon, Leicestershire was founded, a Mercian ealdorman named Friduric, gave some land there to the abbey of Medeshamstede, to provide for a minster and a priest. The Domesday Book of 1086 also lists two 1066 landowners (i.e. pre-Norman) with the names Frederic and Fredri which suggests the Old English cognate was used. There is also record of an abbott of St Albans around 1072 named Fredericus, and a Frari fillius Willelmi in the Feet of Fines for Norfolk in 1198. Frari seems to have developed as a shortform; in Assize Rolls we find the nam latinised not only as Fredericus but also Fraricus, Frarinus and Frarius. By the 13th century, examples of the name can be found in surname form (Fretheryk, Frereric, Fretherik, Frary) though they are quite uncommon, and Bardleys points out that instances are generally on the East coast with family connections to the Low Countries* suggesting European influence. Despite this use, Frederick never had the same exposure in Britain that it did in Europe, where it had early on been established among the nobility. The name had been borne by a 9th century bishop, Frederick of Utrecht, who was canonised as a saint shortly after his death and was quickly established as a hereditary name of the House of Hohenstaufen, a dynasty of German monarchs. The first of the house was Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050-1105) who was named after his father. The Hohenstaufen dynasty was mighty, ruling over Swabia, Italy and Sicily. Three of its line were crowned Holy Roman Emperors -- two of whom were named Frederick. The most famous is Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor (1122-1190), also known as Frederick Barbarossa "redbeard," who is considered one of the greatest medieval emperors thanks to his political acumen, organisational and tactical skills, prowess on the battlefield, and charisma. Consequently, Frederick has been borne by monarchs of Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Saxony. Frederick was used moderately in Britain up until the 18th century, when its use by the new Hanoverian royal family in Britain brought the name to public attention. Prince Frederick Louis (1707-1751), eldest son and heir of George II. Like his father and grandfather, he was born in Hanover but came to Britain in 1728 after the succession of his father and was created Prince of Wales in January the following year. Frederick was politically (and in general) opposed to his father. He was patron of the arts, a sportsman and a supporter of the Jacobites. Unlike his father, he was a popular figure with the public, and many mourned his death in 1751 aged 44 as the forward-thinking king they never were to have. While the Prince of Wales was gaining attention in Britain, Prussia also had a high-profile figure with the name, in the form of Frederick II of Prussia(1712–1786), who became known as "Frederick the Great." The Surname Atlas (click to enlarge)
Undoubtedly, Frederick increased in use during this period, especially in the South of England and among the aristocracy who aligned themselves with the Prince of Wales' political stance. It rose gradually over the following century and by 1860 it was firmly established at #9 in England and Wales. It remained steady over the following decades. By 1870 it was #10, #9 in 1880, #8 in 1890 and #7 in 1900. Data from the 1881 census (right) shows that Frederick was proportionally most popular in the South of England, and little used comparatively in Wales and Scotland. click to enlarge
Frederick remained popular for much of the first half of the 20th century, ranking in the top 10 in England and Wales until 1924. After that it began to decline, falling out of the top 100 after 1954 when it ranked #64. By 1996, Frederick had gradually risen back and was lurking just under the #100 mark for much of the early 2000s. It finally came back into the top 100 in 2005 when it ranked #98. It stayed around that mark until 2010 when it began to rise upwards to #81 in 2014. Some of Frederick's rising fortunes can be attributed to the success of its diminutive form Freddie, which joined the top 100 in 2004 and has been on an upward curve ever since, ranking #20 in 2014. In Scotland, Frederick remains rare, and hasn't ranked below #200 in the last twenty years. In 2014 it ranked #252. |
| Famous Bearers: |
History: * St Frederick (d.838), Bishop of Utrecht. Contemporary: * Frederick Forsyth (b. 1938), British novelist. Literature and Other Media: * Frederick Wentworth, the hero of Jane Austen's Persuasion (1817). |
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Variants: |
Frederik (Danish, Dutch), Fredrik (Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish), Frédéric (French), Federico (Spanish, Italian), Friedrich (German), Frederico (Portuguese) |
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Pronunciation: |
FRED-ə-rik [key] |
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Possible Diminutives: |
Freddie, Freddy, Fred, Rick, Fritz |
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Sibling Names: |
Victoria Isabella Amelia Eleanor Beatrice Phoebe |
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Name Lists: |
British Royalty European Royalty Gorgeously Georgian Victorian Darlings Shakespearean Names Austen Names Dickensian Names Bronte Names Enid Blyton Names |
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Thanks to Mia for requesting this post.
'Twas Ever Thus: Twin Names
The following article from the Edinburgh Evening News was published on Saturday 17 February 1883 and focuses on quirks of naming twins. The idea of themes for twin names is definitely nothing new!
NAMES OF TWINS
Twins or triple births supply opportunities for the selection of unusual names. Some of these are pretty. Twin girls were lately registered Pearl and Ruby at Wantage, and others near Cranleigh, Sussex, Lily and Rose.
In 1878 a labourer at Robertsbridge, in the same county, presented with three daughters at a birth, called them Faith, Hope and Charity ; and a farm labourer near Bridport recently gave the names of Faith and Hope to twin sons. But sometimes dual births render parents positively cruel in their choice of appellations. We have known the name Huz and Buz applied to twin boys. Peter the Great Wright and William the Conqueror Wright figure in registrations as twins.
Another fancy created by two-fold births is that of furnishing the children with identical names transposed. Twin sons of a gardener at Chard were a few months since endowed respectively with the names James Reginald and Reginald James and at Ixworth, Suffolk, not long ago, died Horace Horatio, whose brother Horatio Horace attested the death entry.
A historian of parish registers remarks that about the sixteenth century it was not unusual for parents to give the same name to two or more of their children, with the view, perhaps, of increasing the likelihood of its perpetuation in their families. He cites, by way of proof, the following quotation from the will of one John Parnell de Gyrton : -- "8 Mar, 1544, Alice my wife and Old John my son to occupy my farm together till olde John marries, and then She to have the land and cattle. Young John my son shall have Brenlay's land plowed and sowed at Old John's cost."
Places occasionally give their names to children as in the cases Matilda Australasia Yarra Yarra Holden, Odessa Silly, &c. It may be supposed that in these instances there is usually some family connection with the locality at the time birth.
Edinburgh Evening News
17 February 1883
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Posted at 10:20 PM in Historical Name Commentary | Permalink | Comments (3)
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