Girls' name · since 1880
Frances
595,697 babies named Frances in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #44 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #318 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 595,697
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Yes -- Frances is the #318 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 595,697 recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Frances recorded 595,697 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #318 nationally today, ahead of 98% of girls, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #44 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #318 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 595,697 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Frances ranks #44 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #318 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 595,697 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #44 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #318 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 595,697
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Frances's 595,697 recorded births place it above 99.93% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Frances compares
595,697 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Frances's all-time total is 1,584x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Frances | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 595,697 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 16,132 | 21 | 19,840 |
Frances's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Frances splits its recorded history at 1953: 16% of all births land in the more recent half, 84% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 2007 (347 births) -- compare that against the 1918 peak of 16,132 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Frances popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 16,132
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Frances popularity over time - boys
5,024 total births recorded since 1880 (Frances as boys' name)
Frances by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (140,391 births, 24% of the file).
1920s was Frances's strongest decade.
140,391 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.
Frances births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 9,182
1880s
9,182 births
- 1890s 18,090
1890s
18,090 births
- 1900s 28,499
1900s
28,499 births
- 1910s
1910s
105,599 births
- 1920s
1920s
140,391 births
- 1930s
1930s
92,117 births
- 1940s
1940s
85,448 births
- 1950s 51,200
1950s
51,200 births
- 1960s 25,001
1960s
25,001 births
- 1970s 11,337
1970s
11,337 births
- 1980s 8,490
1980s
8,490 births
- 1990s 6,068
1990s
6,068 births
- 2000s 3,959
2000s
3,959 births
- 2010s 5,467
2010s
5,467 births
- 2020s 4,849
2020s
4,849 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 140,391 births (24% of all-time use).
How Frances compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Frances's total volume
Frances by state
Where Frances concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 59,967 | 10.1% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 38,531 | 6.5% |
| #3 | Texas | | 32,700 | 5.5% |
| #4 | California | | 26,386 | 4.4% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 25,487 | 4.3% |
| #6 | North Carolina | | 22,105 | 3.7% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 20,152 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Georgia | | 19,734 | 3.3% |
59,967 of 595,697 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Frances appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Frances? ▼
Where does Frances sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Frances most popular? ▼
Where is Frances most popular? ▼
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What to do with Frances's data
- Frances's decade-level peak was the 1920s (140,391 total births); usage has since declined to 4,849 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Francess (59,967 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Frances
Nearby Names Like Frances
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Frances
Compare Frances side by side: Frances vs Frankie Frances vs Francine Frances vs Francesca
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Frances
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Frances: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Frances draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.