Frese last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Frese

A German occupational surname referring to one who cultivated land or who was a farmer.

Frese, 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 Frese surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Frese in America

Frese is the 15719th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Frese surname appeared 1,855 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Frese.

We can also compare 2010 data for Frese 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 15719 15037 4.43%
Count 1,855 1,801 2.95%
Proportion per 100k 0.63 0.67 -6.15%

The history of the last name Frese

The surname Frese originated from the Old German word "frese" or "vresen", meaning a brave or bold person. It first appeared in the region of Saxony, Germany, around the 12th century.

The name was initially used as a nickname for someone who displayed courageous or fearless qualities. Over time, it evolved into a hereditary surname passed down through generations.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Frese can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony dating back to the 13th century.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in various records from the town of Freiberg, located in the Ore Mountains of Saxony. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled "Frese" or "Vrese".

A notable figure bearing the surname Frese was Johann Frese, a German theologian and educator born in 1490 in Nuremberg. He served as the rector of the Nuremberg Latin School and wrote several treatises on education and theology.

In the 16th century, the name Frese gained prominence in the region of Hesse, Germany. Hans Frese, born in 1530 in Kassel, was a distinguished lawyer and jurist who served as a legal advisor to the Landgrave of Hesse.

During the 17th century, the surname Frese spread to other parts of Germany, including Westphalia and Prussia. One prominent individual was Friedrich Frese, a German painter and engraver born in 1670 in Berlin.

In the 18th century, Johannes Frese, born in 1721 in Hanover, was a renowned mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and published several works on astronomy.

Another notable figure was Carl Frese, a German naturalist and explorer born in 1783 in Göttingen. He participated in several scientific expeditions to South America and documented his findings in various publications.

As the name Frese continued to spread across Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, where many descendants of the original German families settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Frese

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

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 Frese was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.50% 1,753
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.54% 10
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.54% 10
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.49% 9
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.65% 12
Hispanic Origin 3.29% 61

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 Frese has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.50% 94.11% 0.41%
Black 0.54% 0.94% -54.05%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.54% 0.89% -48.95%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.49% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.65% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 3.29% 3.16% 4.03%

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 Frese was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Frese last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/frese-surname-popularity/.

"Frese last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/frese-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Frese last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/frese-surname-popularity/.

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