In a message dated 11/8/2000 2:40:25 PM Pacific Standard Time, 1whitedove@home.com writes: << According to what I found out on the FRAZER is that all of the variations Frazier,Frazer andFraser began sometime before 1049 if I remember correctly in France as Fraselle or something like that. I am replying from memory so the spelling is probably off<grn> They migrated to Scotland where the name became FRASER then to Ireland FRAZER and to America FRAZIER This is the general idea. They are all one in the same name. Not all the surnames changed just some. That's to add some more confusion to our hunting. The list is for all these Surnames - At least that is my understanding. If you do a name surname search on Rootsweb for Frazer there should be a link to a surname page that gives the history of it. >> Thanks, Lily! I am familiar with the history of FRAZER/FRASER as a surname - that's what makes it all the more interesting to view the variations. All surnames, from the noblest to the most humble, were subject to the phonetic process - although some presented fewer problems, I should think (Smith and Jones?). But I think that this: "They migrated to Scotland where the name became FRASER then to Ireland FRAZER and to America FRAZIER" - is more legend than factual. This bespeaks too structured a naming custom - and the opposite was true - names were fluid and changed according to the speakers and those listening till around the end of the 1900s, when spelling generally became standardized. You still find people who will tell you that names beginning with Mc are Irish and those with Mac are Scottish. Wrong. Just rendered on paper in different ways. My Irish name is EGAN. People interested in that name used to say that the EGAN spelling was Irish, while EAGEN was used for those who had emigrated to the US. Also - wrong. Just the way it was written down. My first FRAZER ancestor that I know of was noted as "de Ecosse" in Quebec in 1708. At the same time, he is given as having been born in Quebec, not Scotland. The names of his sons and grandsons are also FRAZER - then they go to FRASER and pretty much stay there. A few times, the name is spelled FRAZIER. But my question really was - why are there two lists for the same name? To anyone commenting: I hope you will send your notes to the whole list so we can have a real discussion on these variants. Thank you! Cheers! Ginny Crawford California USA VCrawf@aol.com