Were they Jewish?

[nainmaddie]

Hi Mouchoir

I regret to inform you that I have that awful spelling !!!

I was told by my parents that it is the Welsh spelling.

Good luck with your searches

[enwau]

 :-\somehow your reply to mouchoir got to me.I was referring to the surname Rayner which i believe can be Jewish

[barbaramc]

Re naming,

Here, in the US, most Jews don't name a child after a living relative.  And often, if they want to name a new child after a deceased relative, they just use the first initial, so if you want to name your daughter after your grandmother Victoria, you might name her Valerie. 

which isn't much help in your search, and I don't know if that is the same way in Germany and the UK.

[carinthiangirl]

"We both seem to have come to the conclusion the family could be Jewish (Fridenry / Freidenreich/Fradjenraj) and have been puzzled that on Jewish websites this name is equivalent to 'Wertheimer'."

the meaning of the german jewish name Freudenreich and Wertheimer is very different. both  is not the same. why do you think so?
Freuden = joys
reich = rich
Wert = value, worth
heimer about Heim = home

as exampel, to find in list of Jews from former Austrian-Hungarian crownland Galicia(now Poland and Ukraine):
Wertheimer: http://www.jewishgen.org/Galicia/surdex/si_wa.htm
similar Freudheim/Freudenheim (joys-home): http://www.jewishgen.org/Galicia/surdex/si_fp.htm

[Mouchoir]

   Interesting!  Thanks for this.

Since the last posts, I've continued to search for my ancestors.  No luck in the 1841 census using the Bridge Street, Hackney address from which Charlotte Louisa Lewis Fridenry and John Dunbar Page HOwes married in 1843.  I trawled through page by page.

Still no luck finding John, Charlotte, or either of their fathers pre this date.  Nor any luck with the similar sounding Peter Lewis Fridenrick and his daughter Mary Ann.

I will keep trying and appreciate the suggestions I've received on here.