Frampton
A habitational surname from places named Frampton in England, meaning a farm or settlement associated with a croft or enclosure.
The #9,978 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 95,498 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Frampton is an English habitational surname taken from one of several places called Frampton, especially in Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Lincolnshire. The place-name is generally explained as Old English elements meaning a 'farm' or 'settlement' combined with a term for an enclosure or croft, so the original sense is roughly 'farm by the enclosure' or 'settlement with a croft.' Medieval surname use arose when people were identified by the village or estate they came from.
History
The surname is recorded in medieval and early modern England and appears especially in Dorset and nearby counties. Lower specifically notes a Frampton family of Dorset settled at Moreton from the late 14th century, and later surname atlases show the name clustered in the West Country and East Midlands. It has remained a relatively uncommon English surname and is still most familiar in Britain and countries descended from British migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several English villages called Frampton are named in medieval records, which is why the surname can point to more than one local origin rather than a single family line.
From the historical record
“FRAIX. See Freyne. FRAMPTON. Parishes, &c., in cos. Dorset, Gloucester, Lincoln, &c. The Framptons of the first-named county have resided at Morcton from 13S5. Shirley's Noble and Gentle Men. FRANCE. From the country. FRANCIS. Not from the personal name, which is of too recent introduction ; but as in the H.R., Le…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom