An English surname, Fry comes from the Old English term ‘frig’ which referred to someone small in size or a child. Another Old English term ‘freo’ referred to some being free, not a slave or serf. The spelling variations for Fry include Free and Frye. The German form of Fry would be Frey and Frei. In England the Fry name covers all of the country and into the southern portion of Wales. It is found in the greatest numbers all along the southern English coast; in Somerset, Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire, Dorset, Kent, Wiltshire, Surrey and in the city of London. In Scotland the counties of Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and Midlothian have the higher Fry populations. Within the United States the Fry family name originated in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland. Famous: Birkett D. Fry (Civil War Confederate Army General), Stephen Fry (professional cricket player in England), Joseph Storrs Fry (developed commercial production of chocolate candy in England as J. S. Fry & Sons in the early 19th century), Donald Fry (founded Fry’s Food & Drug Stores in the SW United States), Stephen John Fry (English playwright, journalist, comic, film director and television actor) and John Fry (co-founder of Fry’s Electronics Company).