Fritche - Name

This very unusual name is a late development of the Germanic 'Frech', itself a variant form of the medieval nickname 'Vrech', translating as 'The eager or cheeky one'! The name may have unproven Huguenot antecedents but its early dateline and development in England suggests a possible 'Flemish weaver' origin. Although the name is recorded heraldically from the town of Giessen in the former German State of Hesse - Darmstadt. The Coat of Arms is a Red Rose on a Silver Field and is dated circa 1580. The name development is Frich to Fretch (1645) to Fritch (1681) to Fritche (1806), George Fritche marrying Isabel Frowde at St. Annes Soho, on December 30th of that year. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Sara Frich, which was dated 1604, christened at St. Brides, Fleet Street, London, during the reign of King James I of England and VI of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.