Contents [hide]

Frazee History Etymology Coat of Arms Creation Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto and War Cry Sources

Frazee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Frazee

What does the name Frazee mean?

The origins of the Frazee family name are somewhat of a mystery. The earliest recorded versions of the name, from the 12th century, are de Fresel, de Friselle and de Freseliere, which appear to be Norman; however they have never been found in Normandy itself. The other possibility is that the name was derived from Gaelic, but no-one has been able to locate a Gaelic name from which Frazee might be derived. It is thought that it was in later years that the "fraisse," or strawBerry was adopted as part of the Armorial bearings of this family due to the similarity of the pronunciation of this French word to the Frazee surname.

Frazee Coat of Arms Creation

Lord Lovat, as the head of the Clan Fraser, has a buck's head as crest, and the motto is "Je suis pret" (I am ready). Stags or bucks are carried as crests or in coats of arms because of their good natural qualities, and as signs of the bearer's jurisdiction and liberty of hunting in forests and parks. There are strawberry leaves in the Fraser shield, and some from this assume that the name Fraser is derived from fraise, the French for strawberry. The story is that in the reign of Charles the Simple, Julius de Berry, a nobleman of Bourbon, entertained that monarch to a dish of very fine strawberries, and for doing this was knighted, and strawberry leaves were given him for his arms, and had his name changed from de Berry to Fraiseur or Frizelle.

It is asserted that the first Frasers came to Britain with William the Conqueror. In Scotland, the first of them were settled in Scotland in the time of Malcolm Canmore, when surnames were first used. The Frasers are now a numerous clan, especially in Inverness-shire. They got the crowns in their arms when an ancestor married a niece of King Robert I. 1

Early Origins of the Frazee family

The surname Frazee was first found in Tweedale, Peebles-shire, where Sir Simon Frasee held part of the lands of Keith. There is a record of Symon Fraser giving the church of Keith to the Abbey of Kelso in Circa 1160. Early records include Gilbert Fraser, who witnessed a charter by Walter Olifard in 1210. A later Sir Simon known as "the Scottish Patriot" was a supporter of Sir William Wallace in the struggle for independence.

Early History of the Frazee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frazee research. Another 185 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1293, 1302, 1332, 1375, 1537, 1607, 1610, 1623, 1654, 1667, 1681, 1692, 1715, 1746, 1747 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Frazee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frazee Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Frazer, Fraser, Frasher, Frisell, Frasee, Frazie, Frazier, Friselle, Fresser, Friser, Fryssar, Fressell, Fresal, Fresale, Frichell, Fraysser, Fresall, Fresle, Fresill, Fressair, Fraisser and many more.

Early Notables of the Frazee family

Sir Alexander Fraser (d. 1332), Great Chamberlain of Scotland, the eldest son of Sir Andrew Fraser, who was sheriff of Stirling in 1293. 2 Sir Alexander Fraser (1537?-1623), of Philorth, was founder of Fraserburgh, and was the eldest son of Alexander Fraser, son and heir of Alexander, seventh laird of Philorth. 2 Sir Alexander Fraizer (1610?-1681), was a Scottish physician, declared by the king to...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Frazee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frazee Ranking

the United States, the name Frazee is the 6,548^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Frazee family to Ireland

Some of the Frazee family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 82 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frazee migration to the United States +

Frazee Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William D Frazee, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4

Frazee Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

William P. Frazee, aged 23, arrived in New York, N.Y. in 1919 aboard the ship "Eten" from Cristobal, Cz 5
Gertrude Frazee, aged 24, originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Celtic" from Liverpool, England 5
William C. Frazee, aged 24, destined for Youngstown, Ohio, arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Zulia" from Curacao, DWI 5
Lewis Anderson Frazee, aged 56, arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Baltic" from Liverpool, England 5

Frazee migration to Canada +

Frazee Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Lewis Frazee U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Frazee (post 1700) +

William M. Frazee, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Indiana, 1924 7
William D. Frazee, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 1888; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, 1905-12 8
R. L. Frazee, American politician, Member of Minnesota State House of Representatives 41st District, 1875
James Frazee, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1884 8
James Frazee, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Onondaga County 1st District, 1858
Charles F. Frazee, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1912 8
Charles A. Frazee, American Republican politician, Chair of Rush County Republican Party, 1905 8
Marla Frazee (b. 1958), American children's book author and illustrator, two-time Caldecott Honor recipient
Jeff Frazee (b. 1987), American AHK ice hockey goaltender
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Frazee Motto and War Cry +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Je suis prest
Motto Translation: I am ready.
War Cry: "Castle Dounie"

Sources +

Polson, Alexander, The Romance of Scottish Crests and Mottoes. Inverness: Walter Alexander, Inglis Street 1929. Print
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, November 24) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html