Frances
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "free" or "from France".
Name Census estimates that about 151,447 living Americans carry the first name Frances. It sits at #379 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Frances today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Frances births was 1918 (16,228 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Frances. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Frances with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Frances is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 5,017 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Frances is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Frances' were born before 1970.
- • Compared to the 1920s, recent registration numbers for Frances have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
151K
~ 1 in 2,263 Americans
Peak year
1918
16,228 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
2024 SSA rank
#379
Tracked since 1880
Census
Frances in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 201,696 people with the first name Frances, which placed it at #273 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#273
National first-name rank
People counted
202K
201,696 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
66.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frances
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Frances is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Black (9.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Frances described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Frances at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.4% · 152,116
- Hispanic or Latino10.4% · 20,905
- Black or African American9.2% · 18,631
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 4,737
- Two or more races2.0% · 3,945
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,362
Gender
Gender distribution for Frances
Out of the 599,746 babies given the name Frances since 1880, 99.2% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Frances as a male name
- Ranked #9,247 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1928 (140 births)
Frances as a female name
- Ranked #379 in 2024
- 821 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (16,131 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Frances appears almost entirely female. Of the 201,693 people counted with this name, 99.1% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Frances: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Frances from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 141,498 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Frances by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Frances during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 139 | 9,182 | 9,321 |
| 1890s | 155 | 18,090 | 18,245 |
| 1900s | 222 | 28,499 | 28,721 |
| 1910s | 724 | 105,599 | 106,323 |
| 1920s | 1,107 | 140,391 | 141,498 |
| 1930s | 925 | 92,118 | 93,043 |
| 1940s | 506 | 85,447 | 85,953 |
| 1950s | 403 | 51,200 | 51,603 |
| 1960s | 268 | 25,000 | 25,268 |
| 1970s | 174 | 11,340 | 11,514 |
| 1980s | 166 | 8,489 | 8,655 |
| 1990s | 111 | 6,068 | 6,179 |
| 2000s | 53 | 3,959 | 4,012 |
| 2010s | 37 | 5,466 | 5,503 |
| 2020s | 27 | 3,881 | 3,908 |
Geography
Where Frances' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the most babies named Frances, while Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10,550 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Frances
The name Frances originated from the Latin name Franciscus, which means "Frenchman" or "free man." It was initially a masculine name, but over time, it became a popular feminine name as well.
Frances has its roots in ancient Rome, where the name Franciscus was derived from the Latin word "Francus," referring to the Germanic Franks tribe. During the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity due to the influence of Saint Francis of Assisi, an Italian Catholic friar who lived from 1181 to 1226.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Frances can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem, "The Song of Roland," where a character named Frances appears. In the 13th century, the name became more widespread in England and other parts of Europe.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Frances. One of the most famous was Frances of Rome (1384-1440), an Italian oblate of the Benedictine order who was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Another prominent figure was Frances Burney (1752-1840), an English novelist and diarist who is known for her works such as "Evelina" and "Camilla."
In the 19th century, Frances Sargent Osgood (1811-1850) was an American poet and writer who gained recognition for her work. The name also gained prominence in the realm of politics with Frances Perkins (1882-1965), the first woman to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Another notable figure was Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924), the English-American playwright and author best known for her children's novels, including "The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess."
While the name Frances has its roots in ancient Rome and the Middle Ages, it has remained a popular choice throughout history, with many influential individuals bearing this name across various fields.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Frances
People
Frances + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Frances as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Frances: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Frances?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 151,447 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Frances going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,263 US residents.
Is Frances a common name?
We classify Frances as "Common". It ranks above 99.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 599,746 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Frances most popular?
The single biggest year for Frances was 1918, when 16,228 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Frances is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Frances in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 201,696 people with the name Frances, or 66.78 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #273 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Frances in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Frances?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Frances appears almost entirely female. Of the 201,693 people counted with this name, 99.1% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Frances?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Frances is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Black (9.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Frances most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Frances in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.4% (152,116 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Frances in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Frances a female name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Frances in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Frances still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Frances in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Frances can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Frances?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.