2000
#1,080
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,531
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.95
Uncommon Last name
Franks
A surname of English and German origin referring to a person from France or a person of French ancestry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 33,331 Americans carry the last name Franks. That puts it at #1,186 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,283 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Franks 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 Franks with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
33K
1 in 10,283
Census rank
#1,186
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
29K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,066 bearers of the surname Franks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1186th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Franks, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Franks
Among Census respondents with the surname Franks, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Franks 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 Franks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.7% · 22,869
- Black or African American12.3% · 3,567
- Two or more races4.1% · 1,201
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 995
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 230
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 204
Timeline
Historical Census data for Franks
Franks 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
#1,165
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,155
+624 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 10.22
Rank movement Down 85 places
2020
#1,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,066
-1,089 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 9.72
Rank movement Down 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,080 | 29,531 | 10.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,165 | 30,155 | 10.22 | +624 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 85 places |
| 2020 | #1,186 | 29,066 | 9.72 | -1,089 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 21 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 Franks 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 | #1,165 | #1,186 | -1.8% |
| Count | 30,155 | 29,066 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 10.22 | 9.72 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Franks bearers went from 30,155 to 29,066 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,165 to #1,186.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Franks
FAQ
Franks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Franks?
Name Census estimates that about 33,331 living Americans carry the surname Franks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,283 residents.
How common is Franks?
Franks ranks #1,186 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,066 people with the surname Franks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (33,331), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Franks.
Has Franks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Franks went from 30,155 recorded bearers to 29,066. That is a decrease of 1,089 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,165 to #1,186.
What does the Census say about the background of Franks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Franks, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Franks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.7% (22,869 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Franks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.7%), Black (12.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Franks (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 Franks mean?
A surname of English and German origin referring to a person from France or a person of French ancestry. 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 Franks (9.72 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 Franks?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Franks, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.