# Fran (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/fran/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /fɹæn/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 5,339 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 374 / 4,965 (93% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 20, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Shortening.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 25 | 2,898 |
| 1976 | 24 | 3,035 |
| 1977 | 28 | 2,855 |
| 1978 | 21 | 3,542 |
| 1979 | 11 | 5,867 |
| 1980 | 17 | 4,385 |
| 1981 | 15 | 4,803 |
| 1982 | 13 | 5,307 |
| 1983 | 7 | 8,313 |
| 1984 | 15 | 4,799 |
| 1985 | 7 | 8,633 |
| 1986 | 6 | 9,930 |
| 1987 | 6 | 10,275 |
| 1991 | 6 | 11,999 |
| 2015 | 5 | 17,348 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 9 | 4,595 |
| 1988 | 7 | 5,986 |
| 1990 | 5 | 8,561 |
| 1993 | 6 | 7,969 |
| 1994 | 5 | 9,291 |
| 1996 | 5 | 9,484 |
| 1997 | 6 | 8,512 |
| 1998 | 5 | 10,144 |
| 2002 | 5 | 11,256 |
| 2003 | 8 | 8,090 |
| 2004 | 5 | 11,939 |
| 2012 | 5 | 12,877 |
| 2016 | 7 | 9,996 |
| 2017 | 6 | 11,211 |
| 2025 | 6 | 11,111 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 5 | 2,754 |
| 2006 | 7 | 2,282 |
| 2007 | 4 | 3,589 |
| 2008 | 4 | 3,687 |

## People named Fran

- Fran Drescher, American actress
- Fran Kirby, English association football player (born 1993)
- Fran Kranz, American actor
- Fran Karačić, Australian/Croatian association football player
- Fran Tudor, association football player
- Fran Lhotka, Czech composer (1883-1962)
- Fran Bennett, American actress
- Fran Allison, American television and radio comedian, personality and singer (1907-1989)
- Fran Warren, American singer (1926-2013)
- Fran Huck, Canadian ice hockey player
- Fran Brodić, Croatian footballer
- Fran Ryan, actress (1916-2000)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.