How common is the surname Frank?

67,304 people in the United States had the surname Frank in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,587 Americans. It ranked 499th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Frank?

Jason David Frank, American actor and martial artist (1973–2022), followed by Barney Frank.

Where is the surname Frank most common?

Wikidata records people named Frank in the United States, Austria and Germany and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Frank?

Frank is /ˈfɹeɪ̯ŋk/, one syllable.

Is the surname Frank getting more or less common?

More common. 65,918 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 67,304 in 2010, up 2.1%.

Is Frank also a first name?

Yes. Frank is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Frank

A nickname surname, carried by 67,304 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈfɹeɪ̯ŋk/ 1 syllable Soundex F652 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Frank is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

The surname derives from the medieval tribal name. The given name is also a form of Francis, with formal given name status since the 19th century.

Frank is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 67,304 people named Frank in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 4,587 Americans. That is up 2.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 65,918.

#499

rank among US surnames

67,304

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.1%

change since 2000 (was #454)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#490	Maxwell	67,961	4,543
#491	Waters	67,929	4,545
#492	Logan	67,909	4,546
#493	Camacho	67,893	4,548
#494	Strickland	67,769	4,556
#495	Norman	67,704	4,560
#496	Person	67,411	4,580

Who is named Frank

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

85% of people named Frank identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.0% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 85%
Black (not Hispanic) 8.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 2.2%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Franks

33 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Jason David Frank
American actor and martial artist (1973–2022)
Barney Frank
American politician (1940–2026)
Philipp Frank
Austrian academic (*1884 – †1966)
Leo Frank
American factory superintendent and lynching victim (1884–1915)
Jackson C. Frank
American musician, 1943–1999
Josef Frank
Austrian-Swedish architect (1885–1967)
Melvin Frank
American screenwriter and director (1913-1988)
Scott Frank
American screenwriter and director, born 1960
Waldo Frank
American novelist, historian, political activist and literary critic (1889–1967)
Daniel Frank
Athletics competitor (1882–1965)
Jerome Frank
American jurist (1889–1957)
Liborius Ritter von Frank
Austro-Hungarian general, 1848–1935

Notable Franks come mostly from the United States (25), Austria (4) and Germany (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Frank

Frank has the Soundex code F652, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F652.

Questions

Where does the surname Frank come from?: The surname derives from the medieval tribal name. The given name is also a form of Francis, with formal given name status since the 19th century.
How common is the surname Frank?: 67,304 people in the United States had the surname Frank in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,587 Americans. It ranked 499th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Frank?: In the 2010 Census, 85% of people named Frank identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.0% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Frank?: Jason David Frank, American actor and martial artist (1973–2022), followed by Barney Frank.
Where is the surname Frank most common?: Wikidata records people named Frank in the United States, Austria and Germany and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Frank?: Frank is /ˈfɹeɪ̯ŋk/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Frank?: Frank is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Frank getting more or less common?: More common. 65,918 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 67,304 in 2010, up 2.1%.
Is Frank also a first name?: Yes. Frank is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.