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

Fritch, 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 Fritch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fritch in America

Fritch is the 15259th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fritch surname appeared 1,926 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 Fritch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fritch 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 Fritch

The surname Fritch is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word 'frician' which means 'to dance or move quickly'. It is believed to have originated in the region of East Anglia in England during the 8th or 9th century.

The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Godric Fritch is listed as holding estates in Suffolk. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.

In the 13th century, the name appears in various records with spellings such as Frich, Frich, and Fryche, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling that were common during that period. One notable bearer of the name was Sir William Fritch, a knight who fought in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name spread to other parts of England, with records showing Fritches living in counties such as Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Sir Richard Fritch (1584-1648), a member of Parliament and prominent landowner in Gloucestershire.

In the 18th century, the Fritch family became associated with the town of Fritch in Somerset, which may have been named after an early settler with the surname. A notable figure from this era was John Fritch (1720-1792), a renowned clockmaker whose works are still highly prized by collectors today.

As the British Empire expanded in the 19th century, the Fritch name traveled to various parts of the world, with families settling in places such as Australia, Canada, and South Africa. One notable bearer of the name was Sir James Fritch (1835-1912), a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of the Bahamas from 1888 to 1895.

Over the centuries, the Fritch surname has been borne by many notable individuals across various fields, including politics, the military, commerce, and the arts. Despite its relatively uncommon nature, it remains a distinct and historically significant name with deep roots in the Anglo-Saxon heritage of England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fritch

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Fritch, 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!