Fridrich

Fridrich is both a surname and a masculine given name of Germanic origin, used in Central Europe and among diaspora communities. As a given name, it is the local form of Friedrich, the Germanic name that became Frederick in English, meaning “peaceful ruler” from Old High German fridu “peace” and ríhhi “ruler.” The spelling Fridrich is especially common in Czech and some German-speaking areas, and it may reflect historical or regional usage.

In modern contexts, Fridrich is best known through the Fridrich method, also called CFOP, a widely used approach to solving the Rubik’s Cube. It was popularized by Jessica Fridrich, a professor of electrical engineering and information science. The method divides the solve into four stages: Cross, First Two Layers (F2L), Orientation of the Last Layer (OLL), and Permutation of the Last Layer (PLL). It is valued for speed and efficiency in the speedsolving community.

Notable bearers of the name include Jessica Fridrich; other individuals with the surname Fridrich exist but are less prominent in international contexts. The name is etymologically related to Friedrich and other cognates across Germanic languages. Related spellings and variants occur in different regions, reflecting the name’s cross-cultural history.