Renfro
An American surname probably developed from a place-name or older family name, best known in the U.S. South.
The #3,623 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 31,485 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Renfro is generally treated as an anglicized surname from a place-name or older name formed in the British Isles, though the exact source is not fully settled. It is often linked to forms in which an initial element like "Ren-" was combined with a final element such as "-frew" or "-fru," but the original meaning is uncertain in the surviving records. Because the surname appears mainly in North America in its current form, the spelling may reflect later phonetic simplification.
History
The name is best known as a southern U.S. surname, where it likely spread through migration from earlier British or Ulster-Scottish lines. Modern spellings such as Renfro and Renfrow are often treated as related forms. The surname is comparatively uncommon and is more visible in American records than in British ones.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Renfrow and Renfro are often grouped together in family history research because historical spelling was fluid and clerks wrote the name several different ways.
Notable people named Renfro
- Brad Renfro (1982–2008)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.