Of all the
Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Frome is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in the region of
Froome in the counties of
Somerset and Hereford. The surname Frome originally derived from German origin and was later adopted by the English as a
local name in the 12th century. In Old English the surname Frome was printed as
Ffraw which referred to someone who lived beside a river.
Early Origins of the Frome family
The surname Frome was first found in
Dorset 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 Frome family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frome research.
Another 302 words (22 lines of text) covering the year 1779 is included under the topic Early Frome History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Frome Spelling Variations
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few
hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time,
spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Frome has been spelled many different ways, including Frome, Froome and others.
Early Notables of the Frome family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Frome Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Frome family to the New World and Oceana
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Fromes to arrive in North America:
Frome Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Thomas Frome who settled in Barbados in 1663
Frome Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Ann Frome, aged 27, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1845 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Frome Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Edward Charles Frome, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Recovery" in 1839 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RECOVERY from London 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Recovery.htm - Jane Frome, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Recovery" in 1839 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RECOVERY from London 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Recovery.htm
Contemporary Notables of the name Frome (post 1700)
- Milton Frome (1909-1989), American television and film actor
- William Frome, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Idaho, 1960 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html - Sir Norman Frederick Frome (1899-1982), British bird expert who wrote extensively in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society
- Edward Charles Frome (1802-1890), prominent British and South Australian surveyor and administrator