Frood History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The roots of the Frood name go back to the ancient Vikings and their Old Norse language. Frood was a name for a clever person. The nickname comes from the Old Norse, and was brought to Scotland by Viking Raiders who settled in the Orkney Islands in the 9th century, after being evicted from their holdings in Norway. Those settlers were led by Sigurd the Stout. There is also a place-name Frude, found in Tweedsmuir, Peebles (now part of the Strathclyde and Border regions). It is possible that the surname came from the place-name, however, the opposite derivation is more probable.

Early Origins of the Frood family

The surname Frood was first found in Devon, 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 Frood family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frood research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1544 is included under the topic Early Frood History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frood Spelling Variations

Spelling variations are extremely common among Scottish names dating from this era because the arts of spelling and translation were not yet standardized. Spelling was done by sound, and translation from Gaelic to English was generally quite careless. In different records, Frood has been spelled Froud, Froude, Frowd, Frowde, Frude, Frood and others.

Early Notables of the Frood family

More information is included under the topic Early Frood Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Frood family

Those who made the voyage were greeted with ample opportunity to acquire land and a political climate far away from the oppressive monarchy of the old country. They settled along the east coast of what would become Canada and the United States. In the American War of Independence, those who remained loyal to England traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In this century, many Scots living in North America have begun to recover their rich heritage through festivals, highland games, and Clan societies. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name Frood: James Froud, who settled in New England in 1766; and a William Frowd, who came to Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, in 1766.

Contemporary Notables of the name Frood (post 1700) +

Hilda Frood (d. 1964), Canadian publisher and owner of the Renfrew Mercury, Ontario c. 1964
Geoff Frood (1906-1995), Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (1930)
Hester Frood (1882-1971), New Zealand-born, English painter and printmaker
Herbert Frood (1864-1931), English inventor, industrialist, and entrepreneur from Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, best known as the inventor of brake pads
Oren Claude Frood (1889-1943), Canadian professional ice hockey left winger (1906-1916)
Elizabeth Anne Frood (b. 1975), New Zealand-born Egyptologist and academic, who specialises in self-presentation and the study of non-royals, Associate Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford (2006-)