All individuals with the surnames Frecknall, Fretwell, and related variants are welcome to join. This group was originally formed to explore the origins of the rare English surname Frecknall. Genealogical research indicates that nearly all Frecknalls can trace their ancestry to Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire, England, and that the surname was historically recorded in forms such as Fricknell, Frignall, and other similar spellings. However, not all Frecknalls share the same Y-DNA lineage. Multiple genetic lines exist, due to at least one illegitimacy event in the 1820s that resulted in the Frecknall surname being passed down through the female line. Initial DNA results also revealed an unexpected connection to the surname Fretwell, demonstrating that some Frecknalls and Fretwells share a common paternal ancestor. As no dedicated Fretwell group exists on FamilyTreeDNA, this project has since been expanded to include individuals with the surname Fretwell as well.