“F” is the 6th letter of the modern English language and basic Latin alphabets. The word I would like to explore is not the nasty version of the “four letter word” (the one that would get you in trouble with your mother if you said it in front of her as a child). It is also not the words “fact”, “fame”, “fast”, “fall” or “fart”.
The word I am thinking of is one that was extremely popular in the United States around 1924 and remained very popular until 1955. It is a word that was extremely popular in the UK before the 1920’s and through 1934, and it reemerged in popularity again for a short time during 2012.
What word could that be? It is the name “Fred”!
He or She?
“Fred” as a name is of German origin. It means “peaceful ruler”. While most popular as a male/boy name, “Fred” is considered a unisex – gender neutral name. Fred is a form of the female names Alfreda, Freda, Frederica and Winifred. As for the male’s, Fred is a form of Fred, Frederick, Frederico, Freddy, Fredek, Frederich, Freed, and Fryderyk.
Famous Real People “Freds”
There are several famous people named “Fred” in the world. My favorite “Fred” is Fred Rogers of “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”. As a child I watched him often on television and it always felt like he was talking just to me. He reminded me that if you can be anything in this word you should “be kind”. Mr. Rogers told me that I was special just the way I am. In addition, he pointed out that when bad things happen look for the helpers. I can truly say that I love him and I have never met him. Crazy huh?
Another famous “Fred” is Fred Astaire, born On May 10, 1899 in Omaha, Nebraska as Frederick Austerlitz. He was an American actor, dancer, singer, choreographer, and television personality. Some people consider him to be one of the greatest dancers in the history of film.
A few other famous “Freds” include:
- Fred Armisen, Cast member on “Saturday Night Live” for 11 years (2002-2013)
- Fred Savage, Played Kevin Arnold in the American television series “The Wonder Years”
- Fred Durst, Frontman of Limp Bizkit (rap rock band)
- Fred Willard, Played role in “This is Spinal Tap” (Rob Reiner mockumentary film)
- Fred Dryer, NFL football player, actor and radio host
- Fred Gwynne, Roles in 1960s sitcoms “Car 54, Where Are You?” and “The Munsters” (Herman Munster)
- Fred McGriff, MLB first baseman
- Fred Grandy, Played “Gopher” in the sitcom “The Love Boat” and served in the US House of Representatives
- Fred Brown, Professional basketball play with the nickname of “Downtown Freddie Brown”
- Fred Couples, American golfer, played on the PGA Tour
Famous Fictional “Freds”
- Fred Jones from the cartoon series “Scooby Doo”
- Fred Weasley from “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
- Fred Flinstone from the cartoon series “The Flinstones”
- Freddy Krueger from “Freddy’s Nightmares”
- Fred (an animated vehicle) in the movie “Cars”
- Freddy Rumsen in “Mad Men”
- Fred from “Sponge Bob Square Plants”
- “Imaginary Fred”, book by Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers
- Fred from “Big Hero 6”
- Coconut Fred from “Fruit Salad Island”
Who are your favorite “Freds” – non-fictional or fictional?
Links to Additional Information
https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-named-fred/celebrity-lists
https://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Fred/f#:~:text=The%20baby%20girl,Freda%2C%20and%20Freddee.
https://nameberry.com/babyname/fred
https://myfirstname.rocks/baby-names/fred#:~:text=Is%20The%20Name%20Fred%20Popular,data%20(ssa.gov).
http://www.babynamescience.com/baby-name/Fred-boy
https://www.names.org/n/fred/about
https://www.ukbabynames.com/boys/fred
About Me
Life is precious, capture its beauty. I am lucky to have a loving family, and wonderful friends. Like everyone, I have good days and bad days, happy days and sad days, patient days and crabby days, beautiful days and ugly days, etc. I try to “hold the bright side up” as much as I can because it makes me feel better, and I think it helps others feel better too. I am so far from perfect, but I try to be kind and respectful. I truly believe that life is precious and that there are so many extraordinary ordinary people and moments in life. I want to share and celebrate the “extraordinary ordinary” through my writing and photography. Please check out my photos at Fine Art America Photography https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/35-laura-smith; at Adobe Stock at https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/207669601/Laura%20Jean%20Smith or at Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/g/LauraJSmith. Perhaps you will find something you would like to have as your own?
