Frise History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Scotland
• Ireland

Etymology of Frise

The origins of the Frise 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 Frise 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 Frise surname.

Frise 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 Frise family

Early History of the Frise family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Frise 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 Frise History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Frise 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 Frise family

Notable among the family at this time was 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...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Frise Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Frise family to Ireland

Some of the Frise 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.

Migration of the Frise family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John Frazer, who purchased land in New England in 1684 and Margaret Frazer, who landed in the West Indies in the same year; David Fraser settled in Barbados in 1745.