Frederick

German

"peaceful ruler"

Frederick Origin and Meaning

The name Frederick is a boy's name of German origin meaning "peaceful ruler".

Frederick, and friendlier nickname Fred, seemed almost to have disappeared, leaving just the memory of Freds past such as Astaire, Mr. Rogers and Flintstone. But today's parents are beginning to recognize it as a strong classic and one of the top royal baby boy names.

Previously, Frederick had taken on a rather forbidding, foreign, military air, reminiscent of Frederick the Great, the enlightened king of Prussia who laid the foundations of the powerful Prussian empire.

For African-Americans, Frederick can be seen as a hero name, honoring Frederick Douglass, who rose from slavery to power as a political activist.

Frederick appears as a character in Shakespeare's As You Like It and the novels of, among others, Jane Austen and Henry James. The name is often streamlined to Frederic and even Fredric. And if you don't like Fred or Freddie (though we do), another nickname is Fritz.

Federico is the appealing Italian and Spanish form, as in renowned poet Federico Garcia Lorca.

Frederick Rank in US Top 1000

# 423 in the US

Frederick Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 230 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Frederick

• 423 US 2024
• 230 Nameberry 2025
• 425 Future 2028
• 63 England 2023
• 169 Scotland 2022
• 85 New Zealand 2024

20 Names Similar to Frederick

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Frederick.

• Albert
• Alfred
• Francis
• Walter
• Louis
• Edwin
• George
• Philip
• Simon
• Edward
• Rupert
• Edmund
• Leonard
• Abraham
• Lawrence
• Peter
• Edgar
• Benedict
• Ralph
• Eugene

Famous People Named Frederick

• Frederick I III, Holy Roman Emperors
• Frederick I King of Prussia
• Frederick II the Great King of Prussia
• Frederick III (Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl) German Emperor
• Frederick William I IV, Kings of Prussia
• Frederick I VI, Kings of Denmark
• Frederick VII (Frederik Carl Christian) King of Denmark
• Frederick VIII (Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl) King of Denmark
• Frederick IX (Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg) King of Denmark
• Frederick I William Charles King of Württemberg
• Frederick Charles Louis Constantine Prince of Hesse; elected King of Finland
• Frederick King of Sweden
• Frederick Law Olmsted American journalist/designer
• Frederick Douglass American abolitionist and author
• Frederick Austerlitz birth name of actor/dancer Fred Astaire
• Frederick Carlton Lewis American track & field athlete
• Frederick Gardner Cottrell American inventor
• Frederick Banting Canadian physician (insulin)
• Frederick Augustus Prince of Great Britain; Duke of York and Albany; son of George III
• Frederick I V, Electors Palatine
• Frederick Louis Prince of Wales; son of George II; father of George III
• Frederick Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Christoph); son of Crown Prince Frederick of Germany
• Frederick of Orange Nassau (Willem Frederik Karel), Prince of the Netherlands; son of William I
• Frederick William George Adolphus Prince of Hesse,Kassel
• Frederick Charles Augustus Prince of Württemberg
• Frederick William Prince of Great Britain; son of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales
• Frederick Forsyth English novelist
• Frederick Sewards "Fred" Trueman English cricketer
• Frederick Hollows Australian ophthalmologist
• Frederick Pei Li physician (Li,Fraumeni syndrome)
• Frederik Magle Danish composer
• Frederick Woodward Skiff American writer & book collector
• Frederick Varley Canadian painter
• Burrhus Frederick Skinner American psychology theorist
• Frederick Heyliger US Army's WW2 Easy Company captain
• Frederick Dewey "Sonic" Smith guitarist for band MC5
• (Frederick) Dierks Bentley American country music singer
• Frederick Heschel Bialik Stone (b. 2008) son of actress Mayim Bialik
• Frederick Easton Klein (b. 2016) son of actor Chris Klein

The name Frederick in Pop Culture

• Frederick Gaylord Crane Frasier's son on "Cheers"&"Frasier"
• Frederick Wentworth character in Austen's 'Persuasion'
• Frederick "Fred" Andrews character in Archie Comics Universe
• Frederick Loren character in "House on Haunted Hill"
• Frederick farmer in "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
• Frederick "Fred" Flintstone character on "The Flintstones"
• Frederick "Fred" Jones character on "Scooby,Doo"
• Frederick Maryland (city and county)
• Frederick's of Hollywood lingerie retail chain
• Frederick Hale Margaret Hale's brother in North and South
• Frederick "Fred" Weasley character from Harry Potter series
• Frederick Chilton character in Hannibal
• Frederick "Freddie" McClair from British show "Skins"
• Frederick J. "Fred" Dukes also known as Blob, from Marvel Universe
• Frederick usurping Duke in Shakespeare's "As You Like It"
• King Frederick character in animated movie "Barbie as Rapunzel"

International Variations of the name Frederick

• Friedel German
• Frits Dutch
• Freek Dutch
• Fridrich Czech
• Freidrich German
• Fryderyk Polish
• Fritzi Hungarian
• Bedrich Czech
• Frederico Portuguese
• Frederik Danish
• Rieti Finnish
• Frerik Dutch
• Fredrik Swedish
• Fritz German
• Frédéric French
• Fredi German
• Frides Hungarian
• Fritzchen German
• Fredek Eastern European
• Frigyes Hungarian
• Rico Spanish