Frank
Frank is a boy's name of Germanic origin.
Meaning
Free man; or member of the Frankish tribe.
Origin and history
Frank is derived from a Germanic ethnonym referring to a member of the Franks, a West Germanic tribe. The tribe's name is historically associated with a type of javelin or means 'free, liberal'. It was a top-10 name in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and remains a classic masculine choice.
Popularity in the United States
915,978 babies in the United States have been named Frank since 1880. It ranks #33 all-time. Among babies born since 2020 it ranks #453.
States where it is most popular
- NY (14.9 %)
- PA (9.1 %)
- CA (8.2 %)
- IL (6.2 %)
- NJ (5.7 %)
Trends by decade
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880-1890 | 30,967 |
| 1890-1900 | 28,718 |
| 1900-1910 | 29,046 |
| 1910-1920 | 116,017 |
| 1920-1930 | 151,830 |
| 1930-1940 | 108,090 |
| 1940-1950 | 119,417 |
| 1950-1960 | 112,321 |
| 1960-1970 | 87,155 |
| 1970-1980 | 46,917 |
| 1980-1990 | 33,590 |
| 1990-2000 | 23,970 |
| 2000-2010 | 14,475 |
| 2010-2019 | 9,480 |
| 2020-2029 | 3,985 |
Famous people named Frank
- Frank Sinatra: Singer, Actor
- Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect, Writer
- Frank Thomas: Baseball Player
Nicknames
Frankie, Franky
Fun facts
- The word 'frank', meaning honest or open, derives from the same Germanic root as the tribe, which came to mean 'free' because Franks held privileged status.
- Frank was consistently among the top 10 most popular boys' names in the United States from 1880 through the 1920s.