Frye
/fraɪ/noun
A surname, generally regarded as a spelling variant of Fry.
Did you know?Frye is commonly treated as a variant of Fry, a surname linked to Middle English terms meaning “free” or “liberated,” rather than to cooking or fried food.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*frijaz
“Free, beloved, or belonging to the community of free people”
Old English
Old English
frēo
“Free; not enslaved or subject to another’s control”
Middle English
Middle English
fri / fry
“Free; a nickname or descriptive term for a free person”
Late Middle English–Early Modern English
English
Fry
“A hereditary surname developed from the nickname or personal description”
Modern English
English
Frye
“A recognized spelling variant of the surname Fry”