Franklin

First Name
136k
in the U.S.
since 1880

Last Name
121k
in the U.S.
in 2010

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Meanings and Origins
Notable Persons Named Franklin
Notable Persons With the Last Name Franklin
Popularity by Year and Gender
Regional Popularity
Ethnicity Distribution
Fun Facts
What Franklins Have Visited This Page?
Name Poster

915k Frank (Nickname)
6k Franklyn
74k Frankie (Nickname)
<100 Frankline
5.1m John
5.2m James
157k Trevor
4.4m Michael
4.1m William
1.6m Elizabeth
1.5m George
737k Benjamin
3k Franky (Nickname)
5k Fran (Nickname)

How to Pronounce Franklin

Franklin Pronunciations

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name Franklin mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of Franklin

User Submitted Meanings

A user from Jamaica says the name Franklin is of English origin and means "Substantial householder".

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Origin of Franklin

Franklin Means

Cited Source

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary

noun Frank"lin

An English freeholder, or substantial householder.

Etymology: OE. frankelein; cf. LL. franchilanus. See Frank (a.)

Other Dictionary Sources

A landowner (14th and 15th centuries) who was free but not of noble birth
Printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; he helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; as a scientist he is remembered particularly for his research in electricity (1706-1790)
Synonyms: benjamin franklin
United States historian noted for studies of Black American history (born in 1915)
Synonyms: john hope franklin

Wiktionary

From Middle English frankelein (â€œfreeholderâ€). The place names are mostly named for Benjamin Franklin.

A surnameâ€‹.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American author, scientist, inventor, and diplomat, and one of the Founding Fathers.
A male given name transferred from the surname, partly in honor of Benjamin Franklin.
A town in Alabama
A town in Arkansas
A town in Connecticut
A village in Georgia, USA
A city in Idaho
A village in Illinois
A city in Indiana
A city in Iowa
A city in Kentucky
A city in Louisiana
A town in Maine
A rural municipality in Manitoba, Canada
A town in Massachusetts
A village in Michigan
A city in Minnesota
A city in Missouri
A city in Nebraska
A city in New Hampshire
A borough in New Jersey
One of two towns in New York
A town in North Carolina
A city in Ohio
A city in Pennsylvania
A municipality in Quebec
A township and a river in Tasmania
A city in Tennessee
A town in Vermont
A city in Virginia
A town in West Virginia
A city and a few towns in Wisconsin
(US, informal) A one-hundred-dollar bill, which carries the portrait of Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin was also found in the following language(s): Middle English

Notable Persons Named Franklin

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt was a Member of the New York State Senate, for the 26th District, 32nd President of the United States, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and Member of theNew York State Senate. He holds the title Nothing to Fear, State of the Union, FDR Pearl Harbor speech, and A date which will live in infamy". Franklin was born on January 30th, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York, U.S. He died on April 12th, 1945.

Popularity:

Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was a 14th President of the United States. His military service ended in 1848. Franklin was born on November 23rd, 1804 in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. He died on October 8th, 1869.

Popularity:

Frank Welker

Frank Welker is an actor, voice actor, and voice acting. He has had major accomplishments since 1967. Frank was given the name Franklin Wendell Welker on March 12th, 1946 in Denver.

Popularity:

Shea Whigham

Shea Whigham is an actor. He has been prominent since 1997. Shea was given the name Franklin Shea Whigham, Jr. on January 5th, 1969 in Tallahassee, Florida.

Popularity:

Franklin Richards

Franklin Richards is a comics character.

Popularity:

Frankie Lymon

Frankie Lymon was a rhythm, blues, doo-wop, rock, roll, pop music, and swing music singer/songwriter, singing, and songwriter. He plays Vocals. His most notable accomplishments were from 1954 to 1954. Frankie was given the name Franklin Joseph Lymon on September 30th, 1942 in Harlem. Frankie is also known as Franklin Joseph Lineman. He left this life on February 27th, 1968.

Popularity:

Notable Persons With the Last Name Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was a 6th President of Pennsylvania, United States Minister to Sweden, United States Minister to France, 1st United States Postmaster General, Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, United States Ambassador to Sweden, United States Ambassador to France, and . Benjamin was born on January 17th, 1706 in Boston. He died on April 17th, 1790.

Popularity:

Aretha Franklin

She holds the title Respect". Her most notable accomplishments were from 1956 to present. Aretha was given the name Aretha Louise Franklin by her parents C. L. Franklin and Barbara Siggers Franklin on March 25th, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.

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Rosalind Elsie Franklin

Rosalind Elsie Franklin was a scientist in the fields of physical chemistry and x-ray crystallography. Rosalind was born Rosalind Elsie Franklin on July 25th, 1920 in Notting Hill. She died on April 16th, 1958.

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Missy Franklin

Missy was born on May 10th, 1995 in Pasadena, California.

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Kirk Franklin

Kirk Franklin is a christian hip hop and urban contemporary gospel musician, songwriter, record producer, choir director, and choir. He was most prominent from 1992 to present. Kirk was given the name Kirk Dewayne Franklin on January 26th, 1970 in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.

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Lance Franklin

Lance Franklin is an australian rules football player.

Popularity:

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How popular is the baby name Franklin in the U.S.?

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Year	Total Babies Born	Girls Born	Boys Born	Ranking
1880	120	0	120
1881	117	0	117
1882	112	0	112
1883	94	0	94
1884	93	0	93
1885	117	0	117
1886	127	0	127
1887	89	0	89
1888	129	0	129
1889	100	0	100
1890	90	0	90
1891	109	0	109
1892	109	0	109
1893	99	0	99
1894	84	0	84
1895	103	0	103
1896	96	0	96
1897	68	0	68
1898	112	0	112
1899	116	0	116
1900	137	0	137
1901	92	0	92
1902	97	0	97
1903	116	0	116
1904	108	0	108
1905	98	0	98
1906	125	0	125
1907	122	0	122
1908	133	0	133
1909	168	0	168
1910	176	0	176
1911	220	0	220
1912	497	0	497
1913	593	0	593
1914	775	5	770
1915	1,001	0	1,001
1916	1,073	0	1,073
1917	1,201	7	1,194
1918	1,280	5	1,275
1919	1,216	10	1,206
1920	1,458	7	1,451
1921	1,359	9	1,350
1922	1,329	10	1,319
1923	1,267	5	1,262
1924	1,289	5	1,284
1925	1,303	8	1,295
1926	1,208	7	1,201
1927	1,196	13	1,183
1928	1,118	12	1,106
1929	1,069	11	1,058
1930	1,087	9	1,078
1931	1,090	0	1,090
1932	2,763	9	2,754	#66 boy name
1933	5,386	24	5,362	#33 boy name
1934	4,173	17	4,156	#46 boy name
1935	2,626	17	2,609	#71 boy name
1936	2,959	19	2,940	#65 boy name
1937	2,531	17	2,514	#77 boy name
1938	2,035	15	2,020	#100 boy name
1939	1,867	11	1,856
1940	2,402	11	2,391	#87 boy name
1941	2,217	12	2,205	#98 boy name
1942	2,374	10	2,364
1943	1,980	10	1,970
1944	1,822	5	1,817
1945	1,905	11	1,894
1946	1,733	12	1,721
1947	1,781	10	1,771
1948	1,555	5	1,550
1949	1,629	6	1,623
1950	1,633	8	1,625
1951	1,700	7	1,693
1952	1,728	7	1,721
1953	1,767	5	1,762
1954	1,828	8	1,820
1955	1,772	6	1,766
1956	1,798	13	1,785
1957	1,706	13	1,693
1958	1,595	9	1,586
1959	1,562	7	1,555
1960	1,545	11	1,534
1961	1,532	6	1,526
1962	1,535	6	1,529
1963	1,533	12	1,521
1964	1,513	12	1,501
1965	1,381	11	1,370
1966	1,313	11	1,302
1967	1,207	9	1,198
1968	1,196	13	1,183
1969	1,231	7	1,224
1970	1,228	7	1,221
1971	1,126	0	1,126
1972	937	9	928
1973	955	10	945
1974	919	5	914
1975	870	5	865
1976	812	8	804
1977	879	12	867
1978	846	11	835
1979	864	5	859
1980	889	11	878
1981	815	0	815
1982	867	9	858
1983	739	0	739
1984	804	9	795
1985	820	8	812
1986	795	9	786
1987	817	9	808
1988	840	9	831
1989	905	7	898
1990	859	9	850
1991	859	0	859
1992	854	5	849
1993	709	6	703
1994	707	5	702
1995	662	0	662
1996	694	0	694
1997	588	0	588
1998	636	0	636
1999	573	0	573
2000	530	0	530
2001	533	0	533
2002	507	0	507
2003	539	0	539
2004	512	5	507
2005	567	0	567
2006	621	0	621
2007	578	0	578
2008	589	0	589
2009	510	0	510
2010	510	0	510
2011	523	5	518
2012	492	0	492
2013	549	0	549
2014	662	5	657
2015	689	0	689
2016	742	0	742
2017	707	7	700

Where is the name Franklin popular?

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Popularity of Franklin as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Franklin as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in West Virginia, South Carolina, or Alabama.

Popularity of Franklin as a last name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Franklin as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi.

Common last names for Franklin

Smith
Johnson
Jones
Brown
Miller
Williams
Davis
Wilson
Moore
Taylor
Thompson
Thomas
Clark
Anderson
Martin
Lewis
Walker

Common first names for Franklin

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity		Franklin	U.S.
█	White	54.38%	64.26%
█	African American	38.76%	11.96%
█	Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander	0.54%	4.85%
█	American Indian and Alaska Native	0.83%	0.69%
█	Two or More Ethnicities	2.78%	1.76%
█	Hispanic or Latino	2.70%	16.26%

Of Last Name Franklin

People with the last name Franklin are most frequently White or African American

Entire United States

Fun Facts about the name Franklin

What name lists does Franklin rank for?

#94 Classic Boy Names

#35 Last Name First Names

#30 Boy Names Unique to the South

#28 Boy Names Unique to the Southeast
How Popular is the name Franklin? Franklin is the 520^th most popular name of all time. As a last name Franklin was the 251^st most popular name in 2010.
How many people with the first name Franklin have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 136,126 babies born with the first name Franklin in the United States. That's more than enough people named Franklin to occupy the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with an estimated population of 109,000 (as of July 1, 2012).
What year were 5 or more babies first named Franklin? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1880 when it was given as a first name to 120 new born babies.
When was Franklin first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Franklin is Sunday, June 24th, 1866.
What year had the most people named Franklin born? The highest recorded use of the first name Franklin was in 1933 with a total of 5,362 babies. That's a lot of babies named Franklin!
Random Franklin Factoid: According to the 1933 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Franklin ranks 64^th in popularity as a baby boy's name in Connecticut. Imagine that, 22 babies in Connecticut have the same name as you in 1933.
Weird things about the name Franklin: Your name in reverse order is Nilknarf. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Inflrakn. How do you pronounce that?
How many people have the last name Franklin? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 120,621 people with the last name Franklin.
How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Franklin? Franklin was ranked as the 251^st most popular last name but is still less than 0.1% of the population!