Show ContentsFrau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Italian surname Frau is derived from the Latin word "faber," meaning "craftsman," and as such, it was likely an occupational name first born by someone who was an iron worker, or some kind of craftsman.

Early Origins of the Frau family

The surname Frau was first found in Modena (Etruscan: Mutna; Latin: Mutina; Modenese: Mòdna), a city in Emilia capital of the province of Modena. It became Roman in 215 B.C. It was successfully defended by Brutus against Mark Anthony.

This very ancient family dates back to 1185 when Bertaldo Fabri was recorded in Vicenza, a city in northeastern Italy. Later in 1217 in Bologna, one of the family was granted the title of count from the Duke of Parma. In 1256, Bernardo de Fabris to escape the tyranny of Ecelino, emigrated from his homeland and took refuge in Padua. Another branch of the family was Fabri of Calvene, a branch of the previous one, in 1282 they went to live in Calvene and were called Fabri di Berica, because they moved to Vicenza. 1

Early History of the Frau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frau research. Another 123 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1360, 1400, 1441, 1489, 1502, 1544, 1603, 1618, 1697, 1700, 1719, 1725, 1729, 1730, 1731, 1745, 1747, 1750 and 1760 are included under the topic Early Frau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Fabbri, Fabbro, Fabbris, Fabri, Fabro, Fabrey, Fabre, Fabris, Faber, Favro, Faveri, Favero, Favaro, Frau, Fabretto, Favret, Favarin, Fabbrini, Fabbrin, Fabbrucci and many more.

Early Notables of the Frau family

Prominent among members of the family was Martinus Fabri (died 1400), North Netherlandish composer of the late 14th century, known to be a singer; Felix Fabri (1441-1502), was a Dominican theologian, in 1489 authored a book on the history of Swabia, entitled Historia Suevorum; Gentile da Fabriano, a painter known as the first great master of the Umbrian school, born in Rome in 1360, and did works for the Malatesta family in Brescia; Salvator Fabris (1544-1618) an Italian fencing master from Padua; Girolamo Fabrici, a famous anatomist in Padua in the 16th century; Raphael Fabretti (1618-1700), an Italian antiquary; Annibale Pio...
Another 229 words (16 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Frau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frau Ranking

In France, the name Frau is the 7,246th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Frau family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Carlo Agusto Fabricus, who arrived in Canada in 1783 at the age of 30; Bernardo Fabbri whose oath of allegiance was recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1868.



  1. Battista di Crollalanza, Giovanni, Dizionario Storico-Blasonico 3 vols. Pisa: Arnaldo Forini Editore, 1886. Print
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/


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