The name Freind comes from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It was a name for a person who was considered to be very good-natured and neighborly. The surname is derived from the Old English word frend which meant friend. During the Middle Ages people would use this word when they referred to their relatives or their kinsmen.
The surname Freind was first found in Somerset 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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Freind research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1297, 1696, 1696, 1696, 1675, 1728, 1667, 1751, 1669, 1745, 1683, 1715, 1766, 1714, 1667 and 1754 are included under the topic Early Freind History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Freind has undergone many spelling variations, including Friend, Freind, Frend and others.
Notables of the family at this time include Sir John Friend (Freind) (died 1696), was an English conspirator arraigned for high treason at the Old Bailey, 23 March 1696, denied the assistance of counsel and executed at Tyburn 3 April 1696. [1]
John Freind (1675-1728), was an English physician and politician, a younger brother of Robert Freind, born at Croton (or Croughton), near Brackley in Northamptonshire, of which place his father, William Freind...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Freind Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Freind were among those contributors:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: