# Franklin (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/franklin/  
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 | English |
| Meaning | “freeholder” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈfɹæŋklɪn/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 142,506 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 141,728 / 778 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,599, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English frankelein (“freeholder”), see franklin. The place names are mostly named after American statesman Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790).

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 9 | 8,716 |
| 1992 | 5 | 14,000 |
| 1993 | 6 | 12,295 |
| 1994 | 5 | 14,162 |
| 2004 | 5 | 16,977 |
| 2011 | 5 | 17,671 |
| 2014 | 5 | 17,413 |
| 2017 | 7 | 13,184 |
| 2018 | 8 | 11,778 |
| 2019 | 11 | 9,331 |
| 2020 | 8 | 11,437 |
| 2021 | 6 | 14,063 |
| 2022 | 10 | 9,938 |
| 2023 | 6 | 14,014 |
| 2024 | 13 | 8,117 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 520 | 500 |
| 2012 | 495 | 529 |
| 2013 | 551 | 497 |
| 2014 | 664 | 449 |
| 2015 | 690 | 445 |
| 2016 | 745 | 423 |
| 2017 | 710 | 437 |
| 2018 | 693 | 436 |
| 2019 | 739 | 422 |
| 2020 | 718 | 414 |
| 2021 | 801 | 395 |
| 2022 | 788 | 407 |
| 2023 | 784 | 408 |
| 2024 | 841 | 388 |
| 2025 | 909 | 359 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 85 | 444 |
| 2012 | 88 | 450 |
| 2013 | 121 | 342 |
| 2014 | 139 | 328 |
| 2015 | 136 | 341 |
| 2016 | 171 | 291 |
| 2017 | 175 | 287 |
| 2018 | 160 | 303 |
| 2019 | 161 | 303 |
| 2020 | 171 | 277 |
| 2021 | 184 | 260 |
| 2022 | 162 | 277 |
| 2023 | 127 | 336 |
| 2024 | 126 | 346 |
| 2025 | 158 | 287 |

## In other languages

- Bulgarian: Фра́нклин
- Chinese: 富蘭克林 /富兰克林
- Greek: Φραγκλίνος
- Russian: Фра́нклин

## People named Franklin

- Franklin J. Schaffner, American film director (1920–1989)
- Joseph Franklin Rutherford, American lawyer, Watch Tower Society president (1869–1942)
- Franklin Chang-Díaz, Costa Rican-American astronaut and physicist
- Franklin Graham, American Christian evangelist and missionary, son of Billy Graham
- Franklin Henry Giddings, American economist (1855–1931)
- Franklin Cover, American actor (1928-2006)
- Franklin Pierce Adams, American newspaper columnist (1881-1960)
- Franklin Pangborn, American actor (1889–1958)
- Franklin Sumner Earle, American mycologist (1856-1929)
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., American politician (1914–1988)
- Franklin Carmichael, Canadian artist (1890-1945)
- Franklin Clarence Mars, American businessman (1883–1934)

## 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.