Franklin — #385 US boys' name
140,810 babies named Franklin in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1933. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 97% of names given to boys today.
19% of everyone ever named Franklin was born in this single decade.
5,363 babies were named Franklin in 1933 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Franklin
The Social Security Administration has registered 140,810 babies named Franklin between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Franklin currently holds the #385 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1933, when 5,363 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Franklin performed strongest in the 1930s, accumulating 26,380 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Franklin shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 8,760 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Franklin in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Franklin 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 140,810 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.
Franklin at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Franklin popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1933)
- 5,363
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #385 among boys.
140,810 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1933 with 5,363 births in a single year.
Franklin popularity over time — girls
778 total births recorded since 1914 (Franklin as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Franklin accounts for 1% of total recorded use across both genders.
Franklin by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1930s
- 26,380 births that decade — 19% of Franklin's all-time total
Franklin decade highlights
- Peak decade 26,380 births
- Runner-up 19,311 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1930s was Franklin's strongest decade
26,380 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 19% of all-time use.
Franklin by state
Where Franklin concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 8,760 | 6.2% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 8,650 | 6.1% |
| #3 | California | | 7,282 | 5.2% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 6,989 | 5.0% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 6,886 | 4.9% |
| #6 | Georgia | | 6,357 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Texas | | 6,271 | 4.5% |
| #8 | Virginia | | 5,886 | 4.2% |
8,760 of 140,810 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 6.2% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 6.1% of nationwide
- California 5.2% of nationwide
- North Carolina 5.0% of nationwide
- Ohio 4.9% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 6.2% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Franklin appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.