Frome History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Of all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Frome is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in the region of Froome in the counties of Somerset and Hereford. The surname Frome originally derived from German origin and was later adopted by the English as a local name in the 12th century. In Old English the surname Frome was printed as Ffraw which referred to someone who lived beside a river.

Early Origins of the Frome family

The surname Frome was first found in Dorset where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Frome family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frome research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1779 is included under the topic Early Frome History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frome Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Frome has been spelled many different ways, including Frome, Froome and others.

Early Notables of the Frome family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

George Frome of Puncknoll

Frome migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Fromes to arrive in North America:

Frome Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ann Frome, aged 27, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1845 1

Frome migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Frome Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Edward Charles Frome, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Recovery" in 1839 2
Jane Frome, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Recovery" in 1839 2

Frome migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3

Frome Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Thomas Frome who settled in Barbados in 1663

Contemporary Notables of the name Frome (post 1700) +

Milton Frome (1909-1989), American television and film actor
William Frome, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Idaho, 1960 4
Sir Norman Frederick Frome (1899-1982), British bird expert who wrote extensively in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society
Edward Charles Frome (1802-1890), prominent British and South Australian surveyor and administrator

Citations +

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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RECOVERY from London 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Recovery.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html