Friesen Genealogy Opening Page

The original of the Coat of Arms pictured above was in black and white. I coloured it from the following information that was included with the Coat of Arms. The ribbon underneath with the Friesen name was my design.

The Friesen Coat of Arms illustrated was drawn by an heraldic artist from information officially recorded in ancient heraldic archives. Heraldic artists of old developed their own unique language to describe an individual Coat of Arms. In their language, the Arms (shield) is as follows:

"Ec.: aux 1 et 4 d'or aigle de profil de sa., cour. du champ, celle du 1 cont.; aux 2 et 3 d'arg. a une branche de rosier tigee et feuillee de sin., fleurie de trois pieces de gu. sur le tout de griesen qui est d'arg. a une demi-etoile de gu. defoillante a sen. et un croiss. figure et tourne du meme, s'entretonchant."

When translated the Arms description is:

"Divided: 1 and 4 gold, a black eagle in profile, 2 and 3 silver, a branch of a rose tree, stems and leaves of green, flowered with three red roses over all, a small shield of silver with one half a red star on the right a red crescent with the figure of a face."

Above the shield and helmet is the Crest which is described as:

"L'aigle du 1, iss."

A translation of the Crest description is:

"An eagle with a crown."

Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries in medieval times. A Motto was not recorded with the Friesen Coat of Arms.

About the Friesen name

There are several theories about the origin of the surname Friesen.
One theory is that the name appears to be locational in origin, and is believed to be associated with the Germans, meaning, "one who came from, or lived near Frisa."
Another theory is that the name came from Friesland.
A third theory claims that the name actually started in two places - one in The Netherlands or Germany and the other in France.

A book published in 1985 estimated that there were approximately 4,011 households and a total of approximately 14,440 individuals with the Friesen name living in Canada. The estimated population of Canada in 1985 was 24.9 million and in 2002, 31.4 million. If the Friesen population has increased in the same ratio, there would be approximately 18,000 people in Canada with the Friesen name in 2002.

In 1971 there were approximately 1,300 heads of households in the United States with the Friesen name. The United States Census Bureau in 1970 estimated that there were approximately 3.1 persons per household in America which yields an approximate total of 4,030 people in the United States carrying the Friesen name.