Frick
A surname of several possible European origins, most often linked to a short form of Frederick or related Germanic names.
The #3,702 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,171 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Frick is generally treated as a shortened form of Germanic personal names such as Frederick or Fridrich, with the first element meaning "peace" and the second element meaning "ruler" or "power." Some older surname books also connect it with related short forms like Fricke, Frich, or Fricot, showing that it circulated in several continental languages. In some cases it may also reflect a nickname or local spelling development rather than a single fixed root.
History
The name appears in Germanic and Dutch forms and was carried into English and American usage by immigration and spelling variation. Nineteenth-century surname writers also noted Frick alongside Fricke and Fricker as related forms, and some treated it as a shortened or altered form of Frederick. The surname is well established in the United States, especially through German-speaking ancestry.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century surname writer explicitly grouped Frick with forms like Fricke and Fricker and traced them to the same Germanic name family.
From the historical record
“bern (free bear) ; G. Frieben ; p.n. Freeke. A.S. Fric ; Fr. Friche, Fricot ; FI. Frick ; G., D. Frich, Fricke ; p.n. (fresh, lusty, bold) Freelove. N Freyleif or Fri5- leifr ; A.S. Frealaf, Frithulaf ; p.n. (peaceful love)”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)Notable people named Frick
- Wilhelm Frick (1877–1946)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.