Frail last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Frail is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Frail.

Meaning of Frail

An English surname referring to a weak or fragile person.

Frail, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Frail surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Frail in America

Frail is the 75564th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Frail surname appeared 255 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Frail.

We can also compare 2010 data for Frail to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank755646687812.20%
Count255276-7.91%
Proportion per 100k0.090.10-10.53%

The history of the last name Frail

The surname FRAIL has its origins in medieval France, tracing back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "frele," meaning "fragile" or "delicate." This term originally described a person of a slight or slender build, or perhaps someone of a gentle or mild disposition.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the FRAIL surname can be found in the Livre des Métiers, a historical document from Paris dating back to the late 13th century. This text lists the names and occupations of various Parisian residents, including several individuals with the surname FRAIL.

During the Middle Ages, the FRAIL name was particularly prevalent in the region of Normandy, where it is believed to have originated. The name appears in several early Norman records and charters from the 11th and 12th centuries.

In the 14th century, the FRAIL surname made its way across the English Channel and began to establish roots in England. One notable early bearer of the name was Sir John Frail, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was mentioned in the Chronicles of Froissart, a historical work from the late 14th century.

Another prominent figure bearing the FRAIL surname was William Frail, a 15th-century English scholar and author who wrote several treatises on theology and philosophy. He was born in Oxfordshire in 1412 and died in 1478.

During the Renaissance period, the FRAIL name continued to spread throughout Europe. In the 16th century, a Dutch painter named Pieter Frail gained recognition for his intricate still-life paintings featuring delicate arrangements of flowers and other objects.

In the 17th century, the FRAIL surname appeared in various records and documents across different regions of France, including the regions of Burgundy, Brittany, and Languedoc.

One notable bearer of the FRAIL name in the 18th century was Marie-Jeanne Frail, a French philosopher and writer who was born in Lyon in 1723. Her works explored themes of morality, education, and the role of women in society.

As the centuries progressed, the FRAIL surname continued to be found in various parts of Europe and beyond, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Frail

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Frail.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Frail was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only93.73%239
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin4.71%12

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Frail has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White93.73%92.75%1.05%
Black(S)%3.99%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander0.00%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%0.00%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic4.71%2.54%59.86%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Frail was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Frail, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.

Search
Search
Background shape