Find out how popular the last name Franklin is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Franklin.

Franklin, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Franklin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Franklin in America

Franklin is the 251st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Franklin surname appeared 120,621 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 41 people would have the surname Franklin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Franklin to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Franklin

The surname Franklin originated in England during the medieval period. It is a locational surname derived from the Old English words "franc" and "lēah," which together mean "meadow of the freeman." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived or worked on a meadow owned by a freeman or someone of free status.

The earliest known recording of the surname Franklin is found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it is listed as "William le Frankelein." This spelling variation highlights the name's evolution over time. Other early spellings include "Franchelyn," "Francklin," and "Franckeleyn."

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners in England, there are several references to individuals with the name "Francus" or "Francus Homo," which could be considered early versions of the Franklin surname.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Franklin was John Franklin, born around 1330. He was a prominent English judge and Chief Justice of the Common Pleas during the reign of King Edward III.

Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) was a famous English naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to the Arctic regions. He was the lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) from 1836 to 1843.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was one of the most renowned figures in American history. He was a polymath, scientist, inventor, writer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Aretha Franklin (1942-2018), known as the "Queen of Soul," was an American singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest vocalists of all time.

Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was crucial in the discovery of the structure of DNA, although her contributions were largely unrecognized during her lifetime.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Franklin

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Franklin.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Franklin was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Franklin has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Franklin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Franklin, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!