German and Jewish ‏(Ashkenazic)‏: nickname from ‏(respectively)‏ Middle High German vritac and German Freitag 'Friday' ‏(Old High German friatag, frijetag, a translation of Late Latin Veneris dies: Freya was the Germanic goddess of love, sometimes considered as equivalent to the Roman Venus)‏.

Freitag Name Meaning German and Jewish ‏(Ashkenazic)‏: nickname from ‏(respectively)‏ Middle High German vritac and German Freitag 'Friday' ‏(Old High German friatag, frijetag, a translation of Late Latin Veneris dies: Freya was the Germanic goddess of love, sometimes considered as equivalent to the Roman Venus)‏. The German name may have denoted someone born on a Friday or who performed some feudal service then. However, Friday was considered unlucky throughout Christendom in the Middle Ages ‏(because it was the day on which Christ was crucified)‏, and it seems more likely that the name was given to a person considered ill-omened. It is found as a byname in this sense in Old High German. This is by far the commonest of the surnames drawn from the days of the week, followed by Sonntag 'Sunday', traditionally a day of good omen. Among Jews, it seems to have been one of the names that were distributed at random by government officials.