Frederick
A surname from the given name Frederick, meaning “peace ruler.”
The #833 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,459 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Frederick comes from the medieval personal name Frederick, which entered English from Germanic forms such as Old High German Fridurih or Friduric. The name is made from words for “peace” and “ruler,” so its literal sense is “peace ruler.” As a surname, it usually began as a patronymic or inherited family name from an ancestor called Frederick.
History
Lower explicitly treats Frederick as a surname derived from the personal name, and notes an early bearer of the given name in Kent before Domesday. The Christian name became established in England and elsewhere through medieval continental influence, later hardening into a hereditary surname. It is also found in English records as a byname and in families of both British and American usage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same name tradition produced the familiar short forms Fred and Fritz, both ultimately linked to Frederick.
From the historical record
“a corruption of it. FREDERICK. The personal name. Frederic was a tenant in Kent prior to the making of Domesday. FREE. Under the feudal system, one who was not in servile condition; the same as Freeman, which see. Le Free. H.R, FREEBODY. See under Body. FREEBORN. Under the feudal law, one ^vhose parents were not in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom