Frobisher Surname

718,674th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 406 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Wales

Frobisher Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the furber' or 'furbisher.' A furbisher or scourer of armour and metals generally, found also as' furbearer.' Frobisher is the most prominent modern form of the surname. The 'Smiths, Forbers, and Pewterers went together in the Chester Play, inaugurated 1339' (Ormerod's Cheshire).

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Frobisher Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2061:270,47621,309
Canada1121:328,97830,038
United States531:6,838,848318,712
Wales221:140,66110,115
Scotland51:1,070,76331,189
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
Australia11:26,995,701270,794
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1621:150,46513,283
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
Wales11:1,568,41619,290
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States181:2,789,927129,797

Frobisher (64) may also be a first name.

Frobisher Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the furber' or 'furbisher.' A furbisher or scourer of armour and metals generally, found also as' furbearer.' Frobisher is the most prominent modern form of the surname. The 'Smiths, Forbers, and Pewterers went together in the Chester Play, inaugurated 1339' (Ormerod's Cheshire). 'Foorbyschowre, eruginator' (Prompt. Parv). 'Frobischer, a furbisher: explained by urigenalor'm Nominate MS.' (Halliwell). The American Furburshaw seems to be a corruption of Furbisher.

John le Furber. Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in Turri Londinesi.

Alan le Fourbour. Calendarium Rotulorum Originalium.

Thomas le Furbisur, 1303. Writs of Parliament.

Thomas Fourbour, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Matilda Forbuschour, 1379: ibid.

Anabilla Fourbour, 1379: ibid.

John Forbysher, or Frobusher, or Frobysher, sup. for B.A., 1520: Register of the University of Oxford.

1588. Baptised — Martha, d. Erisia Furbussher: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1701. Married — John Furber and Anne Mihill: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(Anglo-French-Teut.) Furbisher, Cleaner (of armour, &c.) [Early Modern English frobysher, frobiser; French fourbisseur, fur­bisher. also sword-cutler; O.H.Ger, furban, to clean]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

A furbisher or polisher of metals. French fourhisseur, an artizan who polishes and mounts swords; a sword cutler. Boyer. In the Promptorium we read, "Foorbyschowre, eruginator," one who removes rust. The transposition of the o and the r has many analogies. The name Le Furbur in the H.R. is probably synonymous.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Furbisher: kept the armour polished.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

Fukber: The Fukbers have their home in the Nantwich district. In the form of Le Furbur the name occurred in Northumberland, Oxfordshire, and Cambridgeshire in the 13th century (H. R.).

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Frobisher Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Frobisher Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Frobisher is borne by more people in England than any other country or territory. It may be found in the variant forms:. Click here to see other possible spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Frobisher? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 718,674th most frequently held last name at a global level, held by approximately 1 in 17,949,620 people. The surname Frobisher occurs predominantly in Europe, where 58 percent of Frobisher live; 58 percent live in Northern Europe and 58 percent live in British Isles. Frobisher is also the 1,223,525th most common first name throughout the world It is held by 64 people.

The last name Frobisher is most numerous in England, where it is held by 206 people, or 1 in 270,476. In England it is mostly concentrated in: West Yorkshire, where 25 percent live, Lancashire, where 17 percent live and Lincolnshire, where 13 percent live. Beside England this surname occurs in 11 countries. It is also common in Canada, where 28 percent live and The United States, where 13 percent live.

Frobisher Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Frobisher has changed over time. In England the share of the population with the last name expanded 127 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it expanded 294 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 2,200 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it expanded 500 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Frobisher Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Frobisher last name are 13.44% more likely to be registered with the Democratic Party than The US average, with 66.67% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Frobisher earn in different countries varies notably. In United States they earn 4.7% less than the national average, earning $41,119 USD per year and in Canada they earn 21.04% less than the national average, earning $39,230 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Frobise880/
Frohboise780/
Frobese75129/
Frohwieser7432/
Frohbiecer741/
Frohwhiser740/
Frohbese712/
Frühbeisser701/
Frohuheiser700/
Frobitchi670/
Frühbeißer6369/
Frobeze635/
Fraubese591/
Fravice500/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Frobisher
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis