German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from (respectively) Middle
High German vritac and German Freitag ‘Friday’ (Old
High German friatag, frijetag, a translation of
Late Latin Veneris dies: Freya was the Germanic goddess of
love, sometimes considered as equivalent to the Roman Venus). The
German name may have denoted someone born on a Friday or who performed
some feudal service then. However, Friday was considered unlucky
throughout Christendom in the Middle Ages (because it was the day on
which Christ was crucified), and it seems more likely that the name
was given to a person considered ill-omened. It is found as a byname
in this sense in Old High German. This is by far the commonest of the
surnames drawn from the days of the week, followed by Sonntag
‘Sunday’, traditionally a day of good omen. Among Jews, it seems to
have been one of the names that were distributed at random by
government officials.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
66,461
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Freitag
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The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry.com.
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Click on a circle in the chart to view Freitag immigration records
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Click on a circle in the chart to view Freitag birth and death records
An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your ancestors lived in harsh conditions.
A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in
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