Popularity of the name Frances, 1880–2025
Frances was at its most popular in 1918, when 16,132 girls were given the name: about 1 in 72 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #8. In 2025, 960 girls were named Frances, ranking #318. In all, Social Security counts 595,697 girls named Frances since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 5,024 boys named Frances.
- Peak year
- 1918
- Rank in 1918
- #8
- Babies in 1918
- 16,132
- Rank in 2025
- #318
- Total since 1880
- 595,697
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has climbed from #513 in 2015 to #318 in 2025, with 614 girls named Frances in 2015 and 960 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Frances ranked highest in the 1910s, at #9, with 105,599 girls given the name that decade. It ranked #41 in the 1880s and #389 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 605 in 1880 (#42), 2,495 in 1900 (#26), 15,883 in 1920 (#9), 8,621 in 1940 (#28), 3,590 in 1960 (#127), 938 in 1980 (#267), 454 in 2000 (#572) and 744 in 2020 (#418).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 16,132, in 1918. Its best rank, #8, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Frances, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 605 | #42 |
| 1881 | 586 | #45 |
| 1882 | 681 | #45 |
| 1883 | 710 | #45 |
| 1884 | 789 | #46 |
| 1885 | 844 | #46 |
| 1886 | 1,059 | #38 |
| 1887 | 1,105 | #34 |
| 1888 | 1,452 | #30 |
| 1889 | 1,351 | #34 |
| 1890 | 1,416 | #33 |
| 1891 | 1,397 | #34 |
| 1892 | 1,670 | #31 |
| 1893 | 1,622 | #34 |
| 1894 | 1,776 | #29 |
| 1895 | 1,833 | #29 |
| 1896 | 1,964 | #27 |
| 1897 | 1,975 | #27 |
| 1898 | 2,379 | #22 |
| 1899 | 2,058 | #24 |
| 1900 | 2,495 | #26 |
| 1901 | 2,071 | #25 |
| 1902 | 2,326 | #23 |
| 1903 | 2,365 | #19 |
| 1904 | 2,657 | #16 |
| 1905 | 2,887 | #16 |
| 1906 | 3,026 | #14 |
| 1907 | 3,299 | #16 |
| 1908 | 3,593 | #14 |
| 1909 | 3,780 | #12 |
| 1910 | 4,448 | #11 |
| 1911 | 4,967 | #10 |
| 1912 | 6,680 | #9 |
| 1913 | 7,694 | #9 |
| 1914 | 9,677 | #9 |
| 1915 | 12,786 | #9 |
| 1916 | 13,746 | #9 |
| 1917 | 14,363 | #9 |
| 1918 | 16,132 | #8 |
| 1919 | 15,106 | #9 |
| 1920 | 15,883 | #9 |
| 1921 | 15,993 | #9 |
| 1922 | 15,054 | #10 |
| 1923 | 14,881 | #10 |
| 1924 | 15,183 | #10 |
| 1925 | 13,824 | #11 |
| 1926 | 13,355 | #10 |
| 1927 | 12,988 | #12 |
| 1928 | 12,137 | #13 |
| 1929 | 11,093 | #16 |
| 1930 | 10,644 | #16 |
| 1931 | 9,718 | #18 |
| 1932 | 9,552 | #19 |
| 1933 | 8,883 | #18 |
| 1934 | 9,206 | #19 |
| 1935 | 8,770 | #19 |
| 1936 | 8,789 | #19 |
| 1937 | 9,057 | #19 |
| 1938 | 8,921 | #23 |
| 1939 | 8,577 | #26 |
| 1940 | 8,621 | #28 |
| 1941 | 8,468 | #31 |
| 1942 | 9,471 | #30 |
| 1943 | 9,449 | #31 |
| 1944 | 8,487 | #33 |
| 1945 | 7,940 | #34 |
| 1946 | 8,450 | #39 |
| 1947 | 8,943 | #39 |
| 1948 | 8,179 | #42 |
| 1949 | 7,440 | #49 |
| 1950 | 6,975 | #51 |
| 1951 | 6,584 | #59 |
| 1952 | 6,079 | #67 |
| 1953 | 5,786 | #72 |
| 1954 | 5,153 | #83 |
| 1955 | 4,641 | #96 |
| 1956 | 4,324 | #107 |
| 1957 | 4,094 | #113 |
| 1958 | 3,847 | #118 |
| 1959 | 3,717 | #124 |
| 1960 | 3,590 | #127 |
| 1961 | 3,422 | #134 |
| 1962 | 3,004 | #143 |
| 1963 | 2,745 | #146 |
| 1964 | 2,599 | #152 |
| 1965 | 2,262 | #163 |
| 1966 | 2,126 | #162 |
| 1967 | 1,868 | #171 |
| 1968 | 1,745 | #185 |
| 1969 | 1,640 | #195 |
| 1970 | 1,627 | #199 |
| 1971 | 1,451 | #208 |
| 1972 | 1,282 | #216 |
| 1973 | 1,155 | #217 |
| 1974 | 1,068 | #238 |
| 1975 | 1,029 | #234 |
| 1976 | 948 | #247 |
| 1977 | 940 | #265 |
| 1978 | 924 | #256 |
| 1979 | 913 | #267 |
| 1980 | 938 | #267 |
| 1981 | 925 | #271 |
| 1982 | 904 | #271 |
| 1983 | 875 | #270 |
| 1984 | 855 | #282 |
| 1985 | 834 | #295 |
| 1986 | 765 | #313 |
| 1987 | 806 | #303 |
| 1988 | 807 | #307 |
| 1989 | 781 | #324 |
| 1990 | 759 | #351 |
| 1991 | 711 | #360 |
| 1992 | 669 | #387 |
| 1993 | 640 | #394 |
| 1994 | 608 | #412 |
| 1995 | 571 | #450 |
| 1996 | 544 | #459 |
| 1997 | 531 | #474 |
| 1998 | 547 | #471 |
| 1999 | 488 | #520 |
| 2000 | 454 | #572 |
| 2001 | 429 | #590 |
| 2002 | 415 | #617 |
| 2003 | 449 | #606 |
| 2004 | 427 | #639 |
| 2005 | 355 | #753 |
| 2006 | 360 | #762 |
| 2007 | 347 | #826 |
| 2008 | 368 | #793 |
| 2009 | 355 | #797 |
| 2010 | 356 | #769 |
| 2011 | 348 | #782 |
| 2012 | 364 | #763 |
| 2013 | 409 | #690 |
| 2014 | 484 | #603 |
| 2015 | 614 | #513 |
| 2016 | 721 | #446 |
| 2017 | 730 | #437 |
| 2018 | 723 | #441 |
| 2019 | 718 | #438 |
| 2020 | 744 | #418 |
| 2021 | 801 | #392 |
| 2022 | 755 | #419 |
| 2023 | 760 | #403 |
| 2024 | 829 | #375 |
| 2025 | 960 | #318 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.