2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Frankforter
A surname indicating origins from or association with Frankfort, Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Frankforter. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frankforter 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.
Bearers in the US
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Frankforter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frankforter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (7.5%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frankforter
The surname Frankforter is of German origin, derived from the old German word "frank" meaning "free" or "frank," and "fort" meaning "ford" or "crossing." It originated in the 13th century in the region around Frankfurt, Germany, a city whose name means "ford of the Franks."
The name likely referred to people who lived near a ford or crossing used by the Franks, an ancient Germanic tribe. Early variations of the spelling included Franckforter, Franckfurt, and Franckfurter.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 1356 document from Heidelberg, which mentions a "Johannes Franckfurter." Another early reference is found in the church records of St. Lorenz in Nuremberg from 1412, listing a "Hans Franckfurter."
During the 16th century, the name is associated with several prominent figures. Johannes Frankforter (1495-1555) was a German theologian and reformer who worked closely with Martin Luther. Another notable bearer was the painter and engraver Philipp Frankforter (1520-1589), known for his religious works.
In the 17th century, the name appears in records from various parts of Germany, such as the birth of Anna Frankforter in Darmstadt in 1621. The 18th century saw the birth of Johann Frankforter (1745-1814), a German-born soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
As the name spread across Europe, variations emerged reflecting different regional dialects and languages. Examples include the French spelling "Francfortois" and the Dutch "Franckforder." The Italian opera singer Angelica Frankforter (1829-1905) was born with this surname in Milan.
While the surname is now found worldwide due to migration, its origins can be traced back to the Frankish settlers who established themselves near the ford that would become the city of Frankfurt in medieval Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frankforter
Among Census respondents with the surname Frankforter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (7.5%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Frankforter 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 Frankforter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 97
- American Indian and Alaska Native7.5% · 8
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frankforter
Frankforter 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+11 bearers (+9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,367 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-17 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,890 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+9.8%) | Up 1,367 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 15,890 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 Frankforter 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 | #136,449 | #152,339 | -11.6% |
| Count | 123 | 106 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frankforter bearers went from 123 to 106 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 15,890 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #152,339.
FAQ
Frankforter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frankforter?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Frankforter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Frankforter?
Frankforter ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106 people with the surname Frankforter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Frankforter.
Has Frankforter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frankforter went from 123 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 17 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Frankforter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frankforter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (7.5%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Frankforter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frankforter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (7.5%), Black (0.9%). 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 Frankforter (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 Frankforter mean?
A surname indicating origins from or association with Frankfort, Germany. 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 Frankforter (0.04 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 many Americans have the surname Frankforter?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.