NameCensus.

UK surname

Freed

An English surname derived from the Middle English word "frith," meaning peace or protection, or referring to a freed slave.

In the 1881 census there were 130 people recorded with the Freed surname, ranking it #16,911 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 482, ranked #10,255, up from #16,911 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew, London parishes and Chart, Little. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Reigate and Banstead, Swale and Salford.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Freed is 512 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 270.8%.

1881 census count

130

Ranked #16,911

Modern count

482

2016, ranked #10,255

Peak year

2010

512 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Freed had 130 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,911 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 482 in 2016, ranked #10,255.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 322 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Suburban Professionals.

Freed surname distribution map

The map shows where the Freed surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Freed surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Freed over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 104 #16,746
1861 historical 173 #13,553
1881 historical 130 #16,911
1891 historical 263 #12,261
1901 historical 271 #12,462
1911 historical 322 #10,873
1997 modern 449 #10,094
1998 modern 456 #10,295
1999 modern 454 #10,380
2000 modern 456 #10,321
2001 modern 450 #10,226
2002 modern 472 #10,060
2003 modern 471 #9,902
2004 modern 460 #10,120
2005 modern 461 #10,022
2006 modern 460 #10,073
2007 modern 467 #10,053
2008 modern 477 #9,997
2009 modern 497 #9,911
2010 modern 512 #9,870
2011 modern 491 #10,094
2012 modern 465 #10,422
2013 modern 468 #10,516
2014 modern 485 #10,327
2015 modern 480 #10,311
2016 modern 482 #10,255

Geography

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Where Freeds are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew, London parishes, Chart, Little, Maidstone, Linton, Loddington and Sutton, East. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Reigate and Banstead, Swale, Salford, Manchester and Dartford. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew Sussex
2 London parishes London 3
3 Chart, Little Kent
4 Maidstone, Linton, Loddington Kent
5 Sutton, East Kent

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Reigate and Banstead 004 Reigate and Banstead
2 Swale 015 Swale
3 Salford 016 Salford
4 Manchester 033 Manchester
5 Dartford 004 Dartford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Freed

These lists show first names that appear often with the Freed surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Freed

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Freed, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals

Group

Suburban Professionals

Nationally, the Freed surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Suburban Professionals, within Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals. This does not mean every Freed household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Employment in this Group is typically in managerial and professional occupations, and education to degree level is common. Residents are typically of working age, many of whom identify with an Indian ethnicity. Households are unlikely to be of Mixed or Multiple ethnicities, and English is not the main language used in some households. This Group is found on the outskirts of most conurbations as well as in the suburbs of some free-standing towns.

Wider pattern

Those working within the managerial, professional and administrative occupations typically reflect a wide range of ethnic groups, and reside in detached or semi-detached housing. Their residential locations at the edges of cities and conurbations and car-based lifestyles are more characteristic of Supergroup membership than birthplace or participation in child-rearing. Houses are typically owner-occupied and marriage rates are lower than the national average. This Supergroup is found throughout suburban UK.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

Professional Periphery

Within London, Freed is most associated with areas classed as Professional Periphery, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods predominantly house residents aged 45+, with many aged 85+. Most employed residents work in senior roles, and relatively few work in unskilled jobs. Terraced housing is comparatively rare, but communal living is more common. More residents identify as of Indian ethnicity and more affiliate with non-Christian religions. Disability levels are below the Supergroup average.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Freed is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Freed falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Freed is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Freed, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Freed

The surname Freed is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "fridu" which means peace. It is believed to have originated in the 12th century, during the Middle Ages, primarily in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia in southern Germany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Freed can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae," a collection of historical documents from the 13th century, where a certain "Fredericus Freed" is mentioned as a landowner in the town of Bamberg.

In the 14th century, the name appears in the "Stadtbuch von Nürnberg," an official record of the city of Nuremberg, where a "Hans Freed" is listed as a merchant and member of the local guild.

During the 16th century, the surname gained prominence with the birth of Johann Freed (1497-1570), a German Protestant theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Germany.

Another notable figure was Johann Ludwig Freed (1673-1743), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (chapel master) at the court of the Duke of Württemberg.

The name Freed can also be traced back to the town of Friedberg in Hesse, Germany, which was originally known as "Frideburgh" in the 9th century, meaning "peaceful town" or "peaceful fortress."

In the 18th century, the surname Freed appeared in the records of the Moravian Church, a Protestant denomination with roots in Bohemia and Moravia. One prominent figure was Christian Gottlieb Freed (1746-1821), a Moravian bishop and missionary who traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Americas.

Another notable individual bearing the surname Freed was Johann Baptist Freed (1801-1876), a German-American artist and lithographer who is known for his landscapes and portraits of Native Americans.

The name Freed has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshain, and Friedrichstadt, which incorporate the Old German word "fridu" or its variations.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Freed families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Freed surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Kent leads with 78 Freeds recorded in 1881 and an index of 18.17x.

County Total Index
Kent 78 18.17x
Surrey 12 1.96x
Monmouthshire 9 9.89x
Berkshire 6 6.35x
Buckinghamshire 6 7.89x
Essex 5 2.01x
Middlesex 5 0.40x
Devon 1 0.38x
Durham 1 0.27x
Gloucestershire 1 0.41x
Hampshire 1 0.39x
Lancashire 1 0.07x
Renfrewshire 1 1.03x
Sussex 1 0.47x
Yorkshire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Maidstone in Kent leads with 19 Freeds recorded in 1881 and an index of 148.55x.

Place Total Index
Maidstone 19 148.55x
East Sutton 14 8235.29x
Little Chart 14 11666.67x
Llanarth 9 9000.00x
Sutton Valence 7 1428.57x
Loose 6 952.38x
Wycombe 6 105.82x
East Hendred 5 1428.57x
Southwark Christchurch 5 84.75x
Tonbridge 5 32.30x
Chart Sutton 4 1333.33x
Newington 4 8.61x
West Ham 4 7.29x
Chelsea London 3 7.91x
Penge 2 24.88x
Ashford 1 23.92x
Barming 1 344.83x
Bishopwearmouth 1 3.11x
Brightside Bierlow 1 4.09x
Charlton Next Woolwich 1 22.32x
Cheltenham 1 5.25x
Deal 1 27.32x
Eastwood 1 16.64x
Hackington St Stephen 1 357.14x
Hawkhurst 1 75.19x
Holdenhurst 1 14.79x
Islington London 1 0.82x
Kensington London 1 1.43x
Lambeth 1 0.91x
Langley 1 625.00x
Manchester 1 1.49x
Pluckley 1 250.00x
Plumstead 1 6.99x
Rye 1 49.51x
Sonning 1 96.15x
South Weald 1 46.95x
Stoke Damerel 1 5.46x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Freed surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 11
Sarah 5
Elizabeth 4
Ellen 3
Frances 3
Alice 2
Anne 2
Caroline 2
Emily 2
Emma 2
Harriet 2
Maria 2
Agnes 1
Agness 1
Allice 1
Ann 1
Atlanta 1
Constance 1
Eliza 1
Ellin 1
Ester 1
Florence 1
Francis 1
Isabella 1
Jane 1
Julia 1
Kate 1
Lizzy 1
Lucey 1
Lucy 1
Minnie 1
Rose 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Freed surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Henry 7
Thomas 7
Charles 4
James 4
William 4
Albert 3
Edward 3
Francis 3
George 3
John 3
Wm. 3
Arthur 2
Frank 2
Frederick 2
Harry 2
Walter 2
Alfred 1
Edmund 1
Ernest 1
Geo. 1
Herbert 1
Jas. 1
Jno. 1
Louis 1
Mark 1
Richard 1
Sydney 1
Sylvester 1
Thos. 1
Vincent 1

FAQ

Freed surname: questions and answers

How common was the Freed surname in 1881?

In 1881, 130 people were recorded with the Freed surname. That placed it at #16,911 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Freed surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 482 in 2016. That gives Freed a modern rank of #10,255.

What does the Freed surname mean?

An English surname derived from the Middle English word "frith," meaning peace or protection, or referring to a freed slave.

What does the Freed map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Freed bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.