Frias
A surname of Spanish origin, most often linked to a place name rather than a personal characteristic.
The #2,144 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,257 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Frias is best understood as a Spanish locational surname, referring to someone from a place called Frías. In Spanish, frías is the plural feminine form of frío, meaning 'cold,' so the place-name sense is likely 'cold places' or 'the cold ones.' As with many Iberian surnames, the family name would originally have identified a person by their home village or estate.
History
The name is well established in Spain and later appears widely in Spanish-speaking countries through migration and colonial-era movement. The historical excerpts place Frias among surnames treated as Spanish family names, but they do not give a detailed derivation. In modern usage it is found both as Frias and with the accent-marked Spanish place-name form Frías.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Frías is also the name of a municipality in Burgos, Spain, which helps explain the surname’s locational origin.
From the historical record
“Fried- s. Frith (V., einst K.). Friel s. Frith (einst. K.). Fries a) I. s. Frias b) lll. deutlich in de Fries, de Vries. Frille s. Frith (einst K.). Frimmer s. Fritt (V.). Frlsehauf IH. Satz-N.”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen