Franklin
Franklin was the 359th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 909 babies. Its best year was 1933, when it ranked 33rd with 5,363 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 86 places. More babies were named Franklin in the 1930s than in any other decade.
Meaning freeholder · English, Old French
Say it FRANK-lin /ˈfræŋklɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #359 boys, up 55 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 909boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19335,363 babies
- Total since 1880
- 142,506babies recorded
What does the name Franklin mean?
Franklin comes from Middle English frankelein, a medieval landowner of free but not noble birth, from Old French franc, "free". Chaucer's Canterbury Tales includes a Franklin's Tale. As a given name Wiktionary notes it was used partly in honor of Benjamin Franklin, and later of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
frankelein (Middle English, “freeholder”)franc (Old French, “free”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Frank, Franklyn.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Franklin', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'franklin', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'franklin', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Franklin
The usual nicknames for Franklin are Frank and Frankie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Franklin in the last five years, 80 were named Frank, against 289 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank · also for Francisco, Francis | Traditional | #514 | 3,291 |
| Frankie · also for Francisco, Francesca, Frances | Traditional | #922 | 1,078 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Franklins go by each one.
Franklin popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 778 since 1914.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #359 | 909 |
| 2020 | #414 | 718 |
| 2010 | #505 | 510 |
| 2000 | #448 | 530 |
| 1990 | #296 | 852 |
| 1980 | #253 | 879 |
| 1970 | #208 | 1,219 |
| 1960 | #194 | 1,537 |
| 1950 | #153 | 1,624 |
| 1940 | #87 | 2,391 |
| 1930 | #149 | 1,078 |
| 1920 | #119 | 1,451 |
| 1910 | #170 | 176 |
| 1900 | #151 | 137 |
| 1890 | #157 | 90 |
| 1880 | #112 | 120 |
How popular is Franklin, counting every spelling?
Franklin is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #360 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #359 for Franklin on its own. Together these spellings went to 932 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | 909 | #359 | 4,123 |
| Franklyn | 23 | #4,441 | 101 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Franklin?
909 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Franklin (0.25 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Franklin born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 9 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Franklin.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Franklin?
About 73,100 people born in the US named Franklin are alive today, with a median age of 53; half are between 30 and 70. That makes Franklin mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Franklin by state
How common Franklin was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (2.7×), Wisconsin (2.4×), Nebraska (2.3×), Maine (2.3×), Iowa (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Franklin: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Franklin, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Franklin · Sibling names for Franklin
Questions about the name Franklin
What does Franklin mean?
Franklin means “freeholder” (English, Old French origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Franklin?
Franklin was the 359th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 909 babies. Its best year was 1933, when it ranked 33rd with 5,363 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 86 places. More babies were named Franklin in the 1930s than in any other decade.
Is Franklin a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Franklin in the US.
Where is Franklin most popular?
In 2021–2025, Franklin was most common in Minnesota (1.30 per 1,000 boys), followed by Wisconsin and Nebraska.