The Frei surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,419 people carried this name — #12,757 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 122,000 people counted. That is up 3% from 2,341 in 2000.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
13,860 people named Frei live in Switzerland.
They live in all 26 of Switzerland’s cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 261 people named Frei live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 118 people named Frei.
40 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
46 people named Frei have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 136 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 10 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
22 people named Frei is counted in Finland.
Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Frei in American newspapers,
1918.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 409,149 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Frei,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Heinrich Frei d. 1981 · musician
-
Jakob Frei 1480–1531 · council member
-
Petrus Frei 1549–
-
Beat Jakob Frei 1631–
-
Johann Jakob Frei 1789–1852 · pastor
-
Heinrich Frei 1795– · military personnel
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Frei.
- Frederich 183 · U.S. census
- Frederick 41,394 · U.S. census
- Frediani 465 · U.S. census
- Fredin 451 · U.S. census
- Freeman 169,149 · U.S. census
- Fregosi 136 · U.S. census
- Freiburger 1,057 · U.S. census
- Freidinger 104 · U.S. census
- Frein 454 · U.S. census
- Freire 2,477 · U.S. census
- Freis 224 · U.S. census
- Freismuth 162 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Frei is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.