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

Fridley, 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 Fridley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fridley in America

Fridley is the 12971st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fridley surname appeared 2,367 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 Fridley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fridley 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 Fridley

The surname Fridley originates from the Scandinavian countries, particularly Norway and Sweden, and dates back to the medieval period, around the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse word "fridr," meaning peace or tranquility, combined with the suffix "-ley," which refers to a clearing or meadow.

The earliest known recorded instances of the name Fridley can be found in Norwegian and Swedish parish records from the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Hans Fridley, born in Trondheim, Norway, in 1587. Another notable figure was Ingrid Fridley, a Swedish landowner born in 1634 in Västergötland.

The name Fridley has been associated with various place names in Scandinavia, such as Fridley, a village in Östergötland County, Sweden, and Fridley, a farm in Hedmark County, Norway. These place names likely influenced the spelling and spread of the surname throughout the region.

During the 19th century, as immigration from Scandinavia to North America increased, the surname Fridley was transported across the Atlantic. One of the earliest known bearers of the name in the United States was Ole Fridley, a Norwegian immigrant who settled in Wisconsin in 1848.

Among notable individuals with the surname Fridley throughout history are:

1. Thorvald Fridley (1832-1907), a Norwegian-American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
2. Eliza Fridley (1828-1888), an American novelist and poet known for her works depicting life in the American West.
3. Hans Fridley (1587-1654), a Norwegian merchant and landowner who played a significant role in the development of trade in Trondheim.
4. Ingrid Fridley (1634-1698), a Swedish noblewoman and landowner who owned vast estates in Västergötland.
5. Erik Fridley (1765-1828), a Swedish botanist and explorer who conducted extensive research on the flora of Scandinavia.

The surname Fridley, with its roots in Old Norse and its connection to the idyllic landscapes of Scandinavia, has a rich and intriguing history that spans centuries and continents.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fridley

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

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

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

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