US rank #468 Boys' name Peak 1918 915,398 births

Frank — #468 US boys' name

915,398 babies named Frank 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.

1880s309671890s287181900s290461910s1160171920s1518301930s1080881940s1194201950s1123211960s871501970s469201980s336031990s239672000s144752010s94792020s3397
#468
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 97% of names given to boys today.

1920s
Peak decade

17% of everyone ever named Frank was born in this single decade.

1918
Single peak year

17,018 babies were named Frank in 1918 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Frank

The Social Security Administration has registered 915,398 babies named Frank between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Frank currently holds the #468 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1918, when 17,018 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Frank performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 151,830 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Frank shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 122,821 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Frank in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Frank in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 915,398 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Frank at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

915,398

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1918

17,018 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#468

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Frank popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1918)
17,018
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,00020,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 3,242

Frank popularity over time — girls

4,611 total births recorded since 1880 (Frank as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 4,611 births
-50050100150 200719831968195319381923190818931880 13

Frank by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
151,830 births that decade — 17% of Frank's all-time total
1880s309671890s287181900s290461910s1160171920s1518301930s1080881940s1194201950s1123211960s871501970s469201980s336031990s239672000s144752010s94792020s3397

Frank by state

Where Frank concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Frank
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
122,821 13.4%
#2 Pennsylvania
75,548 8.3%
#3 California
67,485 7.4%
#4 Illinois
50,887 5.6%
#5 New Jersey
47,159 5.2%
#6 Texas
42,042 4.6%
#7 Ohio
39,095 4.3%
#8 Michigan
29,355 3.2%
New York share of Frank's total US births 13.4%
Even split

122,821 of 915,398 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Frank appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Frank?
915,398 babies have been named Frank since 1880. It currently ranks #468 among boys. The peak year was 1918 with 17,018 births.
When was Frank most popular?
Frank was most popular in the 1920s decade with 151,830 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Frank most popular?
The top states for the name Frank are New York (122,821 births), Pennsylvania (75,548 births), California (67,485 births).
How long has the name Frank been used?
Frank has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Frank?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Francis, Francisco, Franklin, Frankie, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Frank

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.