Show ContentsFrevile History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Frevile family

The surname Frevile was first found in Staffordshire where Alexander Baron de Frevile, the lineal descendant of the Norman, married Joane, granddaughter and coheir of Sir Philip Marmion, and was great-grandfather of Sir Baldwin de Freville, who, in the 1st Richard II., claimed, as feudal Lord of Tamworth Castle, to be the King's champion on the day of his coronation; but the same was determined against him, in favour of Sir John Dymoke, in right of the tenure of Scrivelsby. The last direct male heir, Baldwin de Freville, died, in minority 6th Henry V., when his great possessions were partitioned among the husbands of his sisters; thus Sir Thomas Ferrers had Tamworth Castle, Sir Richard Bingham, Middleton in Warwickshire, and Roger Aston, Newdigate, in Surrey." 1

The Freville Baronetcy was originally from Fresville, in the arrondisement of Valognes, Montebourg. 2

Early History of the Frevile family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frevile research. Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1178, 1510, 1552, 1570, 1579, 1600, 1603, 1607, 1628, 1630, 1642, 1665 and 1682 are included under the topic Early Frevile History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frevile Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Freville, Fresville, Freevill, Freeville, Frevile, Frevill, Freefill, Frefill, Frevil, Freewill, Frewill, Freshville, Freschville, Freshfill and many more.

Early Notables of the Frevile family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Frescheville, 1st Baron Frescheville (1607-1682), an English soldier, landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1628 and 1665, Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire (1630-1642.) George Freville (d. 1579), was an English...
Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Frevile Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Frevile family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Frevile or a variant listed above were: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..



  1. Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
  2. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.


Houseofnames.com on Facebook