My friends last name is Rice and were trying to figure out where the place of origin that came from any ideas

Answer 1

Hey Steve,

My favorite site for this is Swyrich.com, and it says Welch or German.

German:
Spelling variations of this family name include: Reis, Reisle (Bavaria, Swabia), Reiss, Reisse, Riess, Ries, Reise, Reisz, Reiser, Reisser, Riser, Reysse, Reys, Reyss, Rice, Ris, Risse, Rise, Risle and many more.

First found in Bohemia, where the name came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging mediaeval society.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Michel Reiser, who sailed to England and.or America in 1709. Among the many other settlers to follow this first immigrant were: Ulrick Riser, who sailed to Philadelphia in 1727.

Welch:
Spelling variations of this family name include: Rice, Rees, Rhys and others.

First found in Carmarthenshire where they were seated from very early times.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Henry Rice who settled in Virginia in 1622; John Rice settled in Virginia in 1639; Richard Rice settled in Virginia in 1650; Anne, Daniel, Edward, Mary, Michael, Thomas, and William Rice all settled in Boston between 1820 and 1860.

Then you can back that site up with records from the Family Search site. And as usual, there are Old entries in both Wales and Germany. There are entries for all of the English colonies too, typical of a Welch name to go where the colonies of england were formed. You should take a look for yourself.

Answer 2

1938 people named Rice arrived at New York between 1830 and 1912 - many were from Ireland.

Answer 3

http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?&fid=10&fn=&ln=rice

This is a brilliant resource for surname info.

Answer 4

could be english