Franchot
A French masculine name derived from the Old German "Francio", meaning "Frank" or "free man".
Name Census estimates that about 148 living Americans carry the first name Franchot. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Franchot today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Franchot births was 1936 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Franchot. 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.
People living today
148
~ 1 in 2,315,908 Americans
Peak year
1936
21 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1985 SSA rank
#6,889
Tracked since 1934
Census
Franchot in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 160 people with the first name Franchot, which placed it at #43,806 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
#43,806
National first-name rank
People counted
160
160 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Franchot
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Franchot is Black at 66.3%. The next largest groups are White (18.8%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Franchot 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 Franchot at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.3% · 106
- White18.8% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 8
- Two or more races2.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
Popularity
Franchot: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Franchot from the 1930s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 70 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Franchot 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 Franchot during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Franchots live
Origin
Meaning and history of Franchot
The name Franchot has its origins in the French language, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old French word "franc," meaning "free" or "frank," and the diminutive suffix "-ot," which was commonly added to names to indicate endearment or smallness.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Franchot can be found in medieval French records, where it was sometimes used as a surname. The name may have been given to individuals who were considered to be of a frank or open nature, or who had been granted freedom from serfdom or other forms of servitude.
The first recorded use of Franchot as a given name can be traced back to the 13th century. One notable figure from this time period was Franchot de Villeneuve, a French knight who fought in the Seventh Crusade (1248-1254) under King Louis IX of France.
During the Renaissance period, the name Franchot gained some popularity among the French nobility. One prominent bearer of the name was Franchot de Brion (c. 1492-1562), a French nobleman and diplomat who served as the ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire under King Francis I.
In the 17th century, Franchot de Franquetot (1618-1697) was a French military officer and courtier who served under King Louis XIV. He was known for his bravery and loyalty, and was awarded the prestigious Order of Saint Louis for his service.
Moving into the 19th century, Franchot de Martines (1804-1879) was a French writer and poet who was associated with the Romantic movement. His works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
Another notable figure was Franchot Ouellette (1864-1946), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1911 to 1921, representing the riding of Vaudreuil.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Franchot. While the name has its roots in French culture, it has been used throughout various parts of Europe and beyond, carrying with it a sense of frankness, freedom, and nobility.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Franchot
People
Franchot + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Franchot 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
Franchot: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Franchot?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 148 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Franchot 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 2,315,908 US residents.
Is Franchot a common name?
We classify Franchot as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 223 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Franchot most popular?
The single biggest year for Franchot was 1936, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Franchot is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Franchot in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 160 people with the name Franchot, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,806 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 Franchot 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 Franchot?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Franchot leans strongly male. 157 people counted with this name were male (96.3%), compared with 6 female bearers (3.7%). 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 Franchot?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Franchot is Black at 66.3%. The next largest groups are White (18.8%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Franchot most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Franchot in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.3% (106 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 Franchot in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Franchot a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Franchot in the SSA data are male. 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 Franchot still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Franchot 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 Franchot 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 Americans are named Franchot?
Find out how many people share the name Franchot on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.