Frankey
A diminutive form of the name Frank, derived from the Old Frankish name Franko.
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the first name Frankey. It is a predominantly male name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Frankey today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Frankey births was 1953 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Frankey. 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 Frankey with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
116
~ 1 in 2,954,779 Americans
Peak year
1953
13 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2010 SSA rank
#12,892
Tracked since 1929
Census
Frankey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 225 people with the first name Frankey, which placed it at #35,641 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
#35,641
National first-name rank
People counted
225
225 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
38.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frankey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Frankey is White at 38.2%. The next largest groups are Black (32.9%) and Hispanic (18.7%). 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 Frankey 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 Frankey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White38.2% · 86
- Black or African American32.9% · 74
- Hispanic or Latino18.7% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 9
- Two or more races3.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Frankey
Frankey leans heavily male at 96.5% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Frankey as a male name
- Ranked #12,892 in 2010
- 5 male births in 2010
- Peak: 1953 (13 births)
Frankey as a female name
- Ranked #14,161 in 1994
- 5 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1994 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Frankey on both sides of the split. Of the 220 people counted with this name, 149 were male (67.7%) and 71 were female (32.3%).
Popularity
Frankey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Frankey from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 52 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Frankey 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 Frankey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Frankey
The name Frankey is a diminutive or pet form derived from the given name Francis. Francis is a masculine name of English, French, and German origin, ultimately stemming from the Latin name Franciscus. The Latin name Franciscus is thought to have derived from the Germanic name Frankō, which means "free" or "Frankish."
The name Francis gained widespread popularity and recognition due to its association with St. Francis of Assisi, the celebrated Italian friar, preacher, and founder of the Franciscan Order. St. Francis, born in 1181 or 1182, was canonized in 1228, and his life and teachings had a profound impact on Christianity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Frankey as a diminutive form of Francis dates back to the late 16th century. In literature, the name appears in Shakespeare's play "The Merry Wives of Windsor," where a character named Frankey Ford is mentioned.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Frankey as their given name. One example is Frankey Baugh (1776-1834), an American pioneer and soldier who fought in the War of 1812. Another is Frankey Donato (1902-1959), an American musician and bandleader known for his contributions to the swing era.
In the realm of sports, Frankey Coleman (1904-1984) was an American basketball player and coach, best known for his tenure as the head coach of the Phillips 66ers, a prominent amateur team in the 1930s and 1940s.
The name Frankey also found its way into the art world, with Frankey Barnswell (1881-1945), an American painter and illustrator, known for her depictions of scenes from the American South.
Lastly, Frankey Green (1953-2005) was a British actor and comedian, recognized for his work in television and theater, particularly his collaborations with the renowned playwright Alan Bleasdale.
While these are just a few examples, the name Frankey has been present throughout various periods and cultures, often as a diminutive or affectionate form of the more widely used name Francis, a name with deep historical and religious significance.
People
Frankey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Frankey 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
Frankey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Frankey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 116 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Frankey 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 2,954,779 US residents.
Is Frankey a common name?
We classify Frankey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 144 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Frankey most popular?
The single biggest year for Frankey was 1953, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Frankey is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Frankey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 225 people with the name Frankey, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,641 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 Frankey 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 Frankey?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Frankey on both sides of the split. Of the 220 people counted with this name, 149 were male (67.7%) and 71 were female (32.3%). 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 Frankey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Frankey is White at 38.2%. The next largest groups are Black (32.9%) and Hispanic (18.7%). 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 Frankey most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Frankey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.2% (86 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 Frankey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Frankey a male name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Frankey 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 Frankey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Frankey 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 Frankey 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 share the name Frankey?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.