Contents [hide]

Frith History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Frith History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The origins of the Frith name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Frith was originally derived from a family having lived as dwellers at the bay or wide valley. The surname Frith was primarily located at Chapel-le-Frith, a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of High Peakin in Derbyshire. 1

The town dates back to 1272, when it was known as Capella de la Firth, and meant "chapel in the sparse woodland." 2

Early Origins of the Frith family

The surname Frith was first found in Derbyshire at Chapel-En-Le-Frith. One of the first records of the family was Wlimar Frith who appeared in the Pipe Rolls for Kent in 1195. A few years later, John del Frith was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Norfolk in 1201 and later, William in the Frith was listed in Essex in 1276. 3

Richard de la Fryth, was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 in Norfolk. 4

Early History of the Frith family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frith research. Another 112 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1317, 1503, 1533, 1584, 1659, 1699, 1700 and 1941 are included under the topic Early Frith History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frith Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Frith include Frith, Fryth, Firkin and others.

Early Notables of the Frith family

Notables of the family at this time include

Richard le Frith; Mary Frith or Moll Cutpurse (c.1584-1659), a notorious pickpocket and fence of the English underworld; and John Frith or Fryth (1503-1533), English Protestant martyr, who aided Willi...
George Frith was a British sheriff who held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1699 to 1700

Frith Ranking

In the United States, the name Frith is the 6,183^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Frith family to Ireland

Some of the Frith family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frith migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Frith Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Frith, who settled in Virginia in 1606
Robert Frith who settled in Virginia in 1635
Tho Frith, aged 17, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" 6
Henry Frith, who arrived in Maryland in 1658 6
John Frith, who arrived in Maryland in 1661 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Frith Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

George Frith, who landed in Virginia in 1711 6
Thomas Frith, who landed in Virginia in 1711 6
Fetter Frith, aged 18, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 6
Anganeas Frith, aged 17, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 6

Frith Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Sarah Frith, aged 14, who arrived in Key West, Fla in 1839 6

Frith migration to Australia +

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

Frith Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Frith, (b. 1814), aged 20, English convict who was convicted in York, Yorkshire, England for 7 years for burglary, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 27th September 1834, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Frederick Frith, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Orleana" in 1840 8
James Frith, English convict from Derby, who was transported aboard the "Anson" on September 23, 1843, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 9
Mr. Henry Frith, English convict who was convicted in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 9th May 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1844 on arrival 10
Mr. Charles Frith, English convict who was convicted in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 30th September 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Frith migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Frith Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Charles L. Frith, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Annie Wilson" in 1863
Elizabeth Frith, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Portland" in 1864
Mr. James Frith, (b. 1863), aged 11 months, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "British Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1864 12
Mrs. Sydney Frith, (b. 1842), aged 22, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "British Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1864 12
Samuel Frith, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "City of Auckland" in 1870
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Frith 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. 13

Frith Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Sarah Frith, who arrived in Barbados in 1678

Contemporary Notables of the name Frith (post 1700) +

David Edward John Frith (b. 1937), English cricket writer and historian
Francis Frith (1822-1898), English photographer of the Middle East
Fred Frith (b. 1949), English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor
William Powell Frith (1819-1909), English painter
Mr. George Frith, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1699 to 1700
Frederick Lee "Freddie" Frith OBE (1909-1988), British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion
Sir Eric Herbert Cokayne Frith (1897-1984), British general
Douglas Cockburn Frith (b. 1945), Canadian politician, member of the Canadian House of Commons for Sudbury from 1980 to 1988
Escott Frith Loney (1903-1982), English first class cricketer for Derbyshire from 1925 to 1927
Sir Robert Frith Lusty (1909-1991), British journalist and publisher, Governor of the BBC from 1960 to 1968

Historic Events for the Frith family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. William Railton Oliver Frith (1916-1941), English Petty Officer from Farnham, Surrey, England, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 14

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ORLEANA 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Orleana.htm
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anson voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1843 with 499 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anson/1843
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th November 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp