Frasers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who carry the surname Fraser, or members of the Scottish Highland clan that bears that name
2. People bearing the family name Fraser, including members of the old Scottish clan of that name
3. Groups of people sharing the surname Fraser, traditionally those belonging to the Scottish Fraser clan

Etymology: The plural "frasers" is simply the plural of "Fraser," so its history is the history of the surname. The Fraser name is Scottish, and its origin is uncertain. Scholars have long linked it to the Norman French, yet no obvious place in France bears a matching name, which has led some to suspect a different source. One proposal is that it was a garbled rendering of a Middle Irish personal name, which would tie the family to Gaelic-speaking tradition rather than to Norman arrivals. Whatever its roots, the name became firmly attached to a Highland clan. Members of the family, and people who share the surname, are now called "Frasers" in the plural. The word therefore points both to a family surname spread across the world and to a specific Highland clan with its own identity and history.