Franklin

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Франклин in RU Russia.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Franklin is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name747K records spelled Franklin9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Panama, Vatican City, Mexico, El Salvador

  Languages: Spanish, Italian

  Also written Franklín, Fránklin, Fränklïn, Frânklîn, Fränklin

• a separate name66K records spelled Franklin4 spellings in the group

  Also written Fránklin, Franklín, Franḳlin

• Indonesian name7.9K records spelled Franklin2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia

  Also written Fránklin

• Lao surname4.0K records spelled Franklin15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, Thailand, United States

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written แฟรงคลิน, แฟรงค์คลิน, แฟร้งคลิน, แฟร้งคลิ้น, แฟรงค์ลิน

84 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Franklin is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, English name from Old French franc, 'free man'; also used as a given name.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In English, A surname transferred from the nickname.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, Member of the Franks; also from French.

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• In Irish, (Middle-English frankeleyn , freeholder). This name has been established in Cos. Limerick and Tipperary since late seventeenth century

  as a name·The Surnames of Ireland

• In enm, A Middle English name for an English freeman that owns land but is not of noble birth.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Benjamin Franklinb. 1706USAmerican polymath and statesman (1706–1790)
• Franklin Pierceb. 1804USpresident of the United States from 1853 to 1857
• Franklin D. Rooseveltb. 1882USpresident of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (1882–1945)
• Billy Grahamb. 1918USnot in their usual nameAmerican Baptist evangelist (1918–2018)
• Rosalind Franklinb. 1920GBBritish chemist, biophysicist, and X-ray crystallographer (1920–1958)
• Edward Albeeb. 1928USnot in their usual nameAmerican playwright (1928–2016)
• Richard Pryorb. 1940USnot in their usual nameAmerican comedian and actor (1940–2005)
• Aretha Franklinb. 1942USAmerican singer, songwriter, and pianist (1942–2018)
• Missy Franklinb. 1995USAmerican swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, world record-holder
• Frankie Jonasb. 2000USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,020 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Franklin?

We estimate roughly 149 thousand people bear Franklin (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Franklin have the most bearers?

We estimate about 78 thousand people bear Franklin in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled franklin.

Where is Franklin most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Franklin is densest in Ecuador — about 1 in 344 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

What does the name Franklin mean?

Recorded meaning: ‘franklin’: a medieval landowner of free but not noble birth, ranking below the gentry