Frame
Usually a nickname or status-name, likely from a word for a stranger or outsider, though some bearers may have a local or occupational origin.
The #4,027 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,977 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is probably from a nickname based on Middle English forms such as frem or fren, meaning "strange," "foreign," or "a stranger." That fits the old habit of naming people by their perceived position in a community, especially newcomers or outsiders. Some 19th-century writers also connected Frame with a word for a "frame" or with local surnames, so more than one origin may have contributed in different families.
History
The name appears in English records and later in London and other British directories, and it also shows up in variant forms such as Frean and Frayne. Because English surnames often arose independently in more than one place, Frame may not have a single origin for every family. In modern usage it is best treated as an established English surname with possible multiple roots.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers explicitly linked Frame with old words for "the stranger," which is why it was often grouped with similar-looking surnames like Frean and Frayne.
From the historical record
“Hardyoora. — Nick, 'one oS hardy frame'; a mongrel word, hair English, half French ; ci, Handsomebody or Gentikorpa. Robenoi Hardycora, 1379: F. T.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances