Girls' name · peaked in 1918
Frances name popularity since 1925
360,598 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Frances (99.1% girls, 0.9% boys). Half of them were born in 1942 or earlier, so the typical Frances is about 84 years old in 2026. Frances peaked in 1918 as the #8 name for girls, and it ranked #318 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 360,598
- Named Frances, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1918
- #8 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #318
- for girls in 2025 (960 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.1% girls
- 357,333 girls · 3,265 boys
- Most popular in
- South Carolina
- 2.24× its national share
Peak year is the year Frances made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Frances births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Frances peaked earlier, in 1918.
- Steepest fall: Between 1950 and 1955, Frances's share of baby girls fell by 42%, from 1 in 246 to 1 in 421.
- Fastest rise: Between 2011 and 2016, it became 2.1× more common, from 1 in 5,050 baby girls to 1 in 2,460.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Frances's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Frances.
Decade by decade
Babies named Frances in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 63,397 | 588 | – |
| 1930s | 92,117 | 925 | #19 |
| 1940s | 85,448 | 505 | #34 |
| 1950s | 51,200 | 404 | #96 |
| 1960s | 25,001 | 268 | #163 |
| 1970s | 11,337 | 174 | #234 |
| 1980s | 8,490 | 166 | #295 |
| 1990s | 6,068 | 111 | #450 |
| 2000s | 3,959 | 53 | #753 |
| 2010s | 5,467 | 37 | #513 |
| 2020–25 | 4,849 | 34 | #318 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
46.9% of babies named Frances from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Frances is most popular
The index compares Frances's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Frances.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 2.24× | 11,273 |
| West Virginia | 1.84× | 5,822 |
| Alabama | 1.67× | 10,626 |
| Virginia | 1.67× | 13,576 |
| North Carolina | 1.65× | 16,829 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Frances's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Frances.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Frances (1918).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data