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

Fretter, 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 Fretter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fretter in America

Fretter is the 142108th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fretter surname appeared 117 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 Fretter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fretter 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.

The history of the last name Fretter

The surname Fretter is of German origin, with roots dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "vretern," which means "to gnaw or nibble." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with an occupation or personal characteristic related to eating habits.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fretter can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, Germany. In this text, a person named Conradus Fretter is mentioned in a charter dated 1290.

The name Fretter also appears in various town and village records throughout Germany during the 14th and 15th centuries. For example, a Johannes Fretter is documented in the town of Erfurt in 1372, while a Henricus Fretter is recorded in the village of Oberkirchen in 1418.

Notable individuals with the surname Fretter throughout history include:

1. Christoph Fretter (1638-1718), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of Gotha.
2. Johann Friedrich Fretter (1670-1737), a German engraver and cartographer known for his intricate maps of various German cities.
3. Heinrich Fretter (1819-1888), a German architect who designed several prominent buildings in Dresden, including the Semperoper opera house.
4. Wilhelm Fretter (1862-1935), a German entomologist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of insect morphology and behavior.
5. Erich Fretter (1905-1995), a German sculptor and artist known for his abstract and figurative works in various media, including bronze, stone, and wood.

The name Fretter has also been associated with certain place names, particularly in Germany. For instance, the village of Fretter in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate likely derived its name from the surname or vice versa.

While the surname Fretter is not as commonly found today as some other German surnames, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and includes notable figures in various fields, from music and cartography to architecture and entomology.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fretter

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

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 Fretter was:

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

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

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

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