A German, English and Dutch surname, Frederick came from the German terms ‘frid’ and ‘ric’ which means peace with power, as in a ruler. The spelling variations for Frederick include Frederic, Frary and Fredericks. In England the earliest settlement for Frederick families was in Lincolnshire. From there the populations of Frederick families centered in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Kent, Hampshire and the city of London. There are also many in Glamorgan and Pembrokeshire in Wales. In Scotland the counties with the higher Frederick populations are Angus, Renfrewshire, Midlothian, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Wigtownshire and Argyll. Within the United States the Frederick families first settled in New York, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. Famous: Kevin Albert Francis Frederick (professional baseball player), Carole Denise Frederick (singer), Samuel Frederick (football player), Benjamin Todd Frederick (19th century congressman from Iowa), Robert Tryon Frederick (commander of the ‘Devil’s Brigade’ during World War II), Lynne Frederick (movie film actress) and Prince Adolphus Frederick (son of King George III of England).