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

Franks, 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 Franks surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Franks in America

Franks is the 1165th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Franks surname appeared 30,155 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Franks.

We can also compare 2010 data for Franks 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 Franks

The surname Franks is of Germanic origin, derived from the word "Franko" which means "free" or "frank". It was originally the name given to a confederation of Germanic tribes that inhabited the region around the Rhine River during the 3rd century AD.

The Franks are first mentioned in Roman records from the 3rd century AD, where they are described as a group of fierce warriors who frequently clashed with the Roman Empire. Over time, the Franks gradually expanded their territory and gained control over much of present-day France, Belgium, and parts of Germany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Franks can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The book lists several individuals with the surname Franks, indicating that the name had already spread to England by the late 11th century.

In the Middle Ages, the surname Franks was often associated with nobility and military service. Several notable historical figures bore this surname, including Robert de Franks (c. 1150-1235), a prominent English nobleman and crusader during the Third Crusade, and Sir Richard Franks (c. 1390-1448), a English knight who served in the Hundred Years' War.

Another famous bearer of the Franks surname was Sebastian Franck (1499-1542), a German Renaissance humanist and author known for his works on theology and philosophy. In the 17th century, Sir John Franks (1616-1694) was an English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London.

During the colonial era, the Franks surname also spread to the Americas. One notable figure was Moses Franks (1718-1789), a British-American merchant and philanthropist who was one of the founders of the Bank of North America, one of the earliest banks in the United States.

Throughout history, the Franks surname has been associated with various place names and older spellings, such as Francke, Francks, and Franke. These variations likely arose due to regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Franks

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

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 Franks 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 Franks 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 Franks was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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