Head to head · Boys' names
Francis vs Frederick
#420 vs #435 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Francis is a whisker ahead (#420 vs #435 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Francis leads 4 measures of 6; Frederick leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Francis #56, Frederick #39 — Frederick higher
- 1890s: Francis #46, Frederick #52 — Francis higher
- 1900s: Francis #36, Frederick #65 — Francis higher
- 1910s: Francis #32, Frederick #55 — Francis higher
- 1920s: Francis #36, Frederick #63 — Francis higher
- 1930s: Francis #48, Frederick #73 — Francis higher
- 1940s: Francis #71, Frederick #72 — Francis higher
- 1950s: Francis #105, Frederick #89 — Frederick higher
- 1960s: Francis #161, Frederick #112 — Frederick higher
- 1970s: Francis #223, Frederick #135 — Frederick higher
- 1980s: Francis #244, Frederick #196 — Frederick higher
- 1990s: Francis #355, Frederick #311 — Frederick higher
- 2000s: Francis #545, Frederick #463 — Frederick higher
- 2010s: Francis #525, Frederick #506 — Frederick higher
- 2020s: Francis #456, Frederick #467 — Francis higher
Frederick stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Francis took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Francis | Frederick |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #56 | #39 |
| 1890s | #46 | #52 |
| 1900s | #36 | #65 |
| 1910s | #32 | #55 |
| 1920s | #36 | #63 |
| 1930s | #48 | #73 |
| 1940s | #71 | #72 |
| 1950s | #105 | #89 |
| 1960s | #161 | #112 |
| 1970s | #223 | #135 |
| 1980s | #244 | #196 |
| 1990s | #355 | #311 |
| 2000s | #545 | #463 |
| 2010s | #525 | #506 |
| 2020s | #456 | #467 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Francis
Not charting outside the US.
Frederick
- England & Wales#55
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Francis
Frenchman; from France
From Latin Franciscus. The Italian form Francesco was a nickname given to the young man of Assisi later canonized as Francis, whose family had strong French trade connections; the name he was born with was Giovanni.
Franciscus → Francesco → Francis → Frances
How it traveled
Latin Franciscus meant simply "a Frank," a Frenchman, and for a long time it was a byname rather than a given name. That changed in the thirteenth century with Francis of Assisi, the merchant's son who founded the Franciscan order; his followers carried the name across Catholic Europe, where it settled into Francesco, Francisco, François and Franz.
Frederick
Peaceful ruler
Two Germanic elements: one about peace, one about rule or power. The compound is transparent in German, where both halves are still recognizable words, and completely opaque in English, which borrowed the whole thing and none of the parts.
Fridurih → Friedrich → Frederick
How it traveled
The name means peace and the kings who carried it spent their reigns at war. The Prussian line took it four times, fought Austria for a province and kept it, fought most of Europe at once and survived, and built a state whose defining institution was its army; the great one of them wrote a treatise against political cynicism as a young man and then conducted a reign that reads as an argument against it.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Francis
FRAN-sis
Stress on the first syllable. Identical in sound to the feminine Frances in American English — the difference lives entirely in the spelling.
- Frank — The long-standing short form, and a fully established given name in its own right for generations of American men.
- Frankie — Informal and affectionate; used for both Francis and Frances, and increasingly given on its own to girls and boys alike.
- Fran — Informal and unisex, since it also serves as the short form of Frances and Francesca.
- Franny — Family-level nickname, mostly childhood.
- Also Cisco.
Frederick
FRED-rik
Two or three syllables depending on how carefully the middle one is said; most English speakers give it two. German gives all three and pronounces the ch as a rasp.
- Fred — The standard English short form; plain, adult and universally understood.
- Freddie — The same softened; unisex, warm and entirely current.
- Rick — Built from the back; a complete given name in its own right.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Francis if you want…
- a name most people already know#420 in 2025, 769 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 61 places on the charts in five years
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Frank, Frankie and Fran
Choose Frederick if you want…
- a name fewer children share#435 in 2025 — frederick will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadyFrederick is holding its place on the charts
- a name that charts abroad tooFrederick is on the national lists of England & Wales
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Francis
Strengths
- An unbroken written record from the thirteenth century onward, in continuous use in English since the Tudor era.
- Instantly recognizable across Italian, Spanish, French, German and Polish, so it travels without needing translation.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Frank, Frankie, Fran — each of which stands perfectly well alone.
To consider
- Francis and Frances sound exactly alike in American English, so the spelling will be queried on forms, in emails and by teachers for life. Many people simply assume the -es version.
- It is strongly represented among older generations, so it may read as a grandfather's name to some ears — though that is precisely the pattern that has brought other names back around.
- The link to Francis of Assisi and to a sitting pope is close enough that some will hear the name as an explicitly Catholic choice, whether or not you mean it that way.
Frederick
Strengths
- Three short forms in three quite different registers.
- The meaning is concrete and can be given to a child in two words.
- It has been in continuous English use for a thousand years.
To consider
- The record carries it for girls in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- Frederic and Fredrick are both current and spelling it out is a permanent job.
- It is a long formal name and other people will shorten it immediately.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Francis and Frederick in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Francis and Frederick?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Francis and Frederick — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Francis or Frederick — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Francis or Frederick?
- Francis, in 2025: Francis ranked #420 with 769 babies; Frederick ranked #435 with 728 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Francis or Frederick?
- Francis. Over the last five years Francis moved up 61 places; Frederick moved up 49 places.
- Which is the older name, Francis or Frederick?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Francis and Frederick?
- About 107,000 people named Francis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 136,000 people named Frederick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Franciss or Fredericks in the classroom?
- Francis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Frederick will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Francis, Frederick and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap