Frome Surname History

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the bearers of the Frome family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found 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

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Frome include 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 +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Frome or a variant listed above:

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