Show ContentsFrenier History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Noble surnames, such as Frenier, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the French people. The original bearer of the name Frenier, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Bourgoigne. In France, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The Frenier family originally lived in the village of Fresne, in the province of Bourgoigne.

Early Origins of the Frenier family

The surname Frenier was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family held a family seat in early times.

This family can be traced back to Thibaut, the lord of Fresnes, who was in the service of the duke of Burgundy with eight horsemen, in 1358. The members of this family also settled in other regions of France. One branch was formed in Fresnières, a village in the department of Oise, in the district of Compiègne, in Picardy.

Some members of the different family branches became prominent through their contributions to their respective communities. Claude de Fresne was the lord of Fresne and of Fleurey, in 1472. Among his descendents were: Étienne, a knight of Malte, the commander of Vaufranche, in Berry, during the 16th century; Chrétien, the captain of one hundred men-at-arms, who was killed during the battle at Saint-Quintin; François, the captain of Montbard; another François, a battle marshal in 1652, a captain of the Château of Montreal; and René, a sea captain, who was married in 1689. The family became even more prominent through alliances with other important families of the day, such as the Thiron, the Languet, the Chalon, the Viesse and the la Loge families.

Early History of the Frenier family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frenier research. The year 1694 is included under the topic Early Frenier History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frenier Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Lafrenière, Lafrenierre, Lafrennière, Lefrenier, Frenier, Frener, Frenet, Frenais, Frenaison, Frenois, la Fresnaye, Fresnay and many more.

Early Notables of the Frenier family

Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Frenier Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Frenier migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Frenier Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Casper Frenier, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1739 1


  1. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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