Frank
Feminine · “a Frank”
Frank is given to boys far more often — 915,978 boys against 4,611 girls since 1880. See Frank as a boy name
The English word frank means free because the Franks were. When the Frankish tribes ruled Gaul, only they had full liberty under the law, so the tribal name became an adjective — and it is why a frank remark is an unguarded one, and why a franchise is a freedom and postage can be franked. Very few names have done that much work.
How old is the name Frank?
Frank was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Frank alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 1,800 people named Frank are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Frank most popular?
Frank peaked in 1890, reaching #435 nationally. See the whole 1890 chart.
Where it comes from
From Franci to Frank
The story of Frank
Francis was a nickname before it was a name — a cloth merchant's son in Assisi called Francesco for his father's trade with France — and it became one of the great European names through him. Frank shortened it and then outgrew it: in America, Frank has been given far more often than Francis for well over a century, and a great many Franks were never christened anything longer. That is unusual. Most short forms stay attached to their long ones; this one detached completely.
Meaning
a Frank; free
The Franks were the Germanic people who took over Gaul and gave France its name; their own tribal name may come from a word for a javelin, though that is argued. Under Frankish rule only Franks held full legal freedom, which is how francus in medieval Latin came to mean free, and English frank, franchise and enfranchise all descend from that. Frank as a personal name is a short form of Francis, which means the Frenchman.
How the name formed
- Franci
- Franciscus
- Francis
- Frank
Related forms: Franz · Franco · Paco · François · Franek
Pronouncing Frank
FRANK
FRANK, one syllable, rhyming with bank. German says Franz with a ts at the end; Italian Franco has two syllables. The English name is as plain as a syllable gets and has never been ambiguous.
Nicknames for Frank
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1928106 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #435reached in 1890
- Change vs 1996
- −44.4%5 in 2007, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Frank in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Franz in German — same name
- Franco in Italian — same name
- Paco in Spanish — related form
- François in French — related form
- Franek in Polish — same name
Franks among us
people named Frank are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Frank sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- One syllable, five letters, understood instantly everywhere English is spoken.
- The etymology is genuinely remarkable and connects the name to a whole family of English words.
- Frankie is available and works for either child.
- It has been in continuous heavy use for the entire length of the American record.
- It is very strongly represented among older generations and reads that way to many people.
- The word frank is also an adjective meaning blunt, which gets played on regularly.
- It reads as a short form to some people even though it has been independent for a century.
- This spelling is recorded for girls too, though so rarely that a girl named Frank will be read as a boy on every form; Frances carries the same root without that.
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What they receive
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Frank
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Franks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,800 people named Frank are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Frank in 2025?
- Frank is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Frank with classmates?
- Frank will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More F names
The most-given names starting with F, all years combined.
Frances#318 · Florence#391 · Faith#254 · Felicia#5554 · Fannie#3342 · Faye#514 · Flora#607 · Freda#6546
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Frank? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Frank and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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