The Friday surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,980 people carried this name — #5,029 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 42,200 people counted. That is up 3% from 6,750 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Friday surname

As an English and Welsh surname

An early record he cites: Simon Fridey, Lincolnshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 301 · public domain.

In print

Friday in American newspapers,
1905–1921.

Newspaper page from The Columbus Weekly Dispatch carrying the name Friday
The Columbus Weekly Dispatch 1905-08-28
Newspaper page from The Columbus Dispatch carrying the name Friday
The Columbus Dispatch 1921-01-23
Newspaper page from Great Falls Daily Tribune carrying the name Friday
Great Falls Daily Tribune 1919-07-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,832 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Friday in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

19,198 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Friday. The most, 3,298, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 5,716
Victoria 5,394
Queensland 3,207
South Australia 1,690
Western Australia 1,530
Tasmania 1,420
ACT (Canberra) 170
Northern Territory 39

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Friday.

Who carried it

People named Friday,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William C. Friday
    William C. Friday 1920–2012 · presenter
  • Elmer Otto Friday
    Elmer Otto Friday 1924–2006 · politician
  • Colby Friday d. 2016
  • Hershel Friday 1922–1994 · lawyer
  • Mary Friday 1927–1995
  • Nancy Friday 1933–2017 · psychologist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Friday,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States485 records

485 records of the Friday name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 228
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 79
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 61
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 40
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 37
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 36
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Lorrence Tealoa Friday

    Born 1942; from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1968 in Kontum, South Vietnam. Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Rufus H. Friday

    Born 1909 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; laundry worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1965, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Helen Friday

    Arrived at New York in 1905 aboard the Prinz Oscar from Genoa, Naples and Palermo, aged 52; farmer. From Phila; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 485 records for Friday in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia99 records

99 records of the Friday name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 41
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 36
  • Tasmanian Names Index 11
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 8
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record George Friday

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Earl Grey, arriving 1838; ticket of leave 1854. Native of Maidenhead.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Philip Friday

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Atalanta, aged 22; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Eileen Mary Friday

    Gentlewoman of Mansfield, Victoria; died 1994.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 99 records for Friday in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada11 records

11 records of the Friday name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 3
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Toshiko Friday

    Died 2001, aged 79; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Clarence Friday

    Married 1887 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Hendry Friday

    Listed at Chester, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1794.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 11 records for Friday in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Friday name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. A. Friday

    Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. J. Friday

    Labour Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Friday

    Royal Army Service Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Friday.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Friday 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.

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