Franklin

What Franklin means

Means “freeholder”

From Middle English frankelein (“freeholder”), see franklin.

Source: Wiktionary, “Franklin” (revision 93769267), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Franklin?

US: Rising: up from #444 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #341 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1933, when 5,363 boys got the name (#33 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,879 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,721 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in SD (2.34 per 1,000 boys), OR (1.39 per 1,000 boys), WI (1.37 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Franklin is #359 in the US and #287 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Franklin were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Franklyn23 US · 16 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Franklin

Boys

• Wade#344“a ford”^*
• Wesley#52“west + wood, clearing”^*
• Forrest#374“forest”^*
• Sterling#345Variant of Stirling, possibly meaning “stream + pool, lake”^*
• Wallace#960“foreign”^*
• Bellamy#721“fair + friend”^*

For a sister

• Darcy#857“to burn, consume”^*
• Murphy#397“descendant of Murrough”^*
• Fallon#778“descendant of Fallamhan”^*
• Kori#978Form of Corey, possibly meaning “troop, host, company”^*
• Blake#295“black”^*
• Merritt#703Editor’s note Used for both: 77% of US babies named Merritt in 2025 were girls

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Franklin’s. Rank is US 2025.