2000
#3,844
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,486
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.15
Rare Last name
Frame
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of picture frames or a builder of wooden frameworks.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,647 Americans carry the last name Frame. That puts it at #4,087 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,530 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frame surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Frame with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,530
Census rank
#4,087
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,413 bearers of the surname Frame in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4087th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frame, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Black (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frame
The surname Frame has its origins in England, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word 'fram', meaning 'journey' or 'travel'. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who traveled frequently or who lived near a major road or pathway.
The earliest known recorded instance of the Frame surname dates back to the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a certain Roger Frame is mentioned as residing in Oxfordshire. This indicates that the name was already well-established by the 13th century.
Another early documented reference to the Frame surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1301, which list a Robert Frame as a taxpayer in that county. This suggests that the name had spread to various regions of England by that point.
The variant spelling 'Fram' is also found in historical records, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a John Fram is listed. This spelling likely reflects the original Old English pronunciation of the word from which the surname is derived.
One notable early bearer of the Frame surname was John Frame, a merchant from Bristol who lived in the late 14th century. He is mentioned in several trade records from the time, indicating the family's involvement in commerce.
In the 16th century, the Frame surname appears to have been particularly concentrated in the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. This is evidenced by records such as the Muster Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1539, which list several individuals with the surname.
A few other notable individuals with the Frame surname throughout history include:
1. Robert Frame (c. 1588-1668), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
2. Samuel Frame (1750-1828), an American politician and jurist who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and as a judge in Pennsylvania.
3. James Frame (1792-1867), a Scottish-born Canadian Anglican priest and educator who played a significant role in the development of higher education in Ontario.
4. William Frame (1828-1899), an American civil engineer and surveyor who was involved in the construction of several railroads and the mapping of the western United States.
5. Janet Frame (1924-2004), a celebrated New Zealand author and poet who is widely regarded as one of the country's most significant writers of the 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frame
Among Census respondents with the surname Frame, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Black (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Frame bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Frame surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 7,510
- Two or more races3.7% · 314
- Black or African American3.2% · 267
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 216
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frame
Frame appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,027
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,827
+341 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 2.99
Rank movement Down 183 places
2020
#4,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,413
-414 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.81
Rank movement Down 60 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,844 | 8,486 | 3.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,027 | 8,827 | 2.99 | +341 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 183 places |
| 2020 | #4,087 | 8,413 | 2.81 | -414 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 60 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Frame surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,027 | #4,087 | -1.5% |
| Count | 8,827 | 8,413 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.99 | 2.81 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frame bearers went from 8,827 to 8,413 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 60 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,027 to #4,087.
FAQ
Frame surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frame?
Name Census estimates that about 9,647 living Americans carry the surname Frame. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,530 residents.
How common is Frame?
Frame ranks #4,087 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,413 people with the surname Frame. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,647), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Frame.
Has Frame become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frame went from 8,827 recorded bearers to 8,413. That is a decrease of 414 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,027 to #4,087.
What does the Census say about the background of Frame?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frame, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Black (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Frame in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (7,510 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frame appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Black (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Frame (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Frame mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of picture frames or a builder of wooden frameworks. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Frame (2.81 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Frame?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Frame on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.