NameCensus.

UK surname

Franklin

An English occupational surname referring to a landowner or freeholder, derived from the Middle English frankelin, meaning "freeman."

In the 1881 census there were 9,941 people recorded with the Franklin surname, ranking it #432 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 14,379, ranked #438, down from #432 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Leonard Shoreditch and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cotswold, North Hertfordshire and Melton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Franklin is 15,053 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 44.6%.

1881 census count

9,941

Ranked #432

Modern count

14,379

2016, ranked #438

Peak year

1999

15,053 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Franklin had 9,941 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #432 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 14,379 in 2016, ranked #438.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 14,798 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Franklin surname distribution map

The map shows where the Franklin surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Franklin surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Franklin over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 5,984 #462
1861 historical 6,560 #428
1881 historical 9,941 #432
1891 historical 11,314 #397
1901 historical 13,247 #396
1911 historical 14,798 #330
1997 modern 14,236 #424
1998 modern 14,949 #420
1999 modern 15,053 #419
2000 modern 14,915 #421
2001 modern 14,567 #423
2002 modern 14,765 #425
2003 modern 14,338 #427
2004 modern 14,275 #428
2005 modern 13,985 #434
2006 modern 13,856 #437
2007 modern 13,991 #438
2008 modern 14,054 #438
2009 modern 14,352 #441
2010 modern 14,670 #440
2011 modern 14,462 #440
2012 modern 14,176 #440
2013 modern 14,525 #439
2014 modern 14,567 #440
2015 modern 14,420 #439
2016 modern 14,379 #438

Geography

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Where Franklins are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Leonard Shoreditch, St Pancras and St John Hackney. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cotswold, North Hertfordshire, Melton, Cherwell and North Warwickshire. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 St Leonard Shoreditch London (East Districts)
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Pancras London (North Districts)
5 St John Hackney London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cotswold 010 Cotswold
2 North Hertfordshire 005 North Hertfordshire
3 Melton 004 Melton
4 Cherwell 016 Cherwell
5 North Warwickshire 005 North Warwickshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Franklin

These lists show first names that appear often with the Franklin surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Franklin

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Franklin, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Franklin surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Franklin household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Franklin is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Franklin is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Franklin falls in decile 10 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Franklin is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Franklin, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of 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.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Franklin families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Franklin surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 2,211 Franklins recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.28x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 2,211 2.28x
Surrey 655 1.39x
Warwickshire 557 2.28x
Oxfordshire 478 7.98x
Essex 409 2.14x
Gloucestershire 398 2.09x
Lancashire 389 0.34x
Berkshire 379 5.20x
Northamptonshire 359 3.93x
Yorkshire 345 0.36x
Kent 334 1.01x
Wiltshire 330 3.85x
Lincolnshire 304 1.96x
Buckinghamshire 299 5.10x
Bedfordshire 266 5.30x
Hertfordshire 251 3.75x
Hampshire 249 1.25x
Durham 237 0.82x
Norfolk 166 1.11x
Staffordshire 141 0.43x
Worcestershire 130 1.03x
Somerset 121 0.77x
Cambridgeshire 119 1.94x
Sussex 79 0.48x
Devon 67 0.33x
Huntingdonshire 64 3.32x
Monmouthshire 62 0.88x
Leicestershire 61 0.57x
Cheshire 53 0.25x
Shropshire 53 0.63x
Glamorgan 51 0.30x
Dorset 46 0.72x
Nottinghamshire 44 0.34x
Derbyshire 33 0.22x
Suffolk 27 0.23x
Lanarkshire 25 0.08x
Cumberland 18 0.22x
Cornwall 17 0.15x
Herefordshire 16 0.40x
Northumberland 16 0.11x
Westmorland 12 0.56x
Midlothian 11 0.08x
Royal Navy 10 0.87x
Caernarfonshire 9 0.23x
Channel Islands 6 0.21x
Flintshire 5 0.19x
Angus 4 0.04x
Denbighshire 4 0.11x
Merionethshire 4 0.23x
Aberdeenshire 3 0.03x
Dumfriesshire 3 0.14x
Kincardineshire 3 0.25x
Brecknockshire 2 0.10x
Montgomeryshire 2 0.09x
Stirlingshire 2 0.06x
Ayrshire 1 0.01x
Banffshire 1 0.05x
Berwickshire 1 0.09x
Caithness 1 0.08x
Clackmannanshire 1 0.12x
Orkney 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 196 Franklins recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.08x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 196 2.08x
Bethnal Green London 163 3.87x
Hackney London 154 2.83x
Aston 132 1.96x
Shoreditch London 129 3.07x
Birmingham 107 1.31x
Lambeth 107 1.26x
St Pancras London 106 1.36x
St Marylebone London 102 1.97x
Paddington London 95 2.66x
Mile End Old Town London 91 4.41x
Hammersmith London 76 3.18x
Chelsea London 75 2.57x
Camberwell 69 1.11x
St George Hanover Square 69 4.04x
Clerkenwell London 68 2.97x
Hampstead London 67 4.43x
West Ham 66 1.56x
Kensington London 65 1.21x
Reading St Giles 59 8.26x
Coventry Holy Trinity 57 7.80x
Battersea 52 1.46x
Stroud 52 14.04x
Tottenham 52 3.37x
Leeds 50 0.92x
Middleton Cheney 50 125.79x
Newington 49 1.37x
Deptford St Paul 47 1.84x
Wandsworth 46 4.93x
Leamington Priors 42 6.98x
Swindon 41 6.16x
Southwark St George Martyr 40 2.05x
Gloucester St John Baptist 38 30.93x
Bromley London 37 1.73x
Leafield 37 156.05x
St Luke London 37 2.38x
Liverpool 36 0.51x
Coventry St Michael 35 4.45x
Clapham 34 2.80x
Manchester 34 0.66x
Portsea 33 0.85x
Thatcham 33 29.41x
St Andrewthe Less 32 4.56x
Basingstoke 31 13.55x
Spitalfields London 31 4.25x
Bedford St Paul 30 8.71x
Brighton 30 0.91x
Dunstable 29 18.79x
Ealing 29 3.34x
West Derby 29 0.86x
Westbury 29 209.39x
Bexley 28 9.57x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 28 1.56x
Croydon 28 1.07x
Oldham 28 0.75x
Streatham 28 3.89x
Whitechapel London 28 2.93x
Chiswick 27 5.09x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 27 7.76x
Warkworth 27 32.88x
Carlton 26 165.18x
Twickenham 26 6.25x
Great Dunmow 25 25.05x
Hemel Hempstead 25 8.30x
Walcott 25 101.17x
Harrow 24 16.19x
Helmdon 24 136.36x
St Peterat Gowts Lincoln 24 11.00x
Walsall Foreign 24 1.42x
Wroughton 24 32.29x
Barton St Peter 23 32.35x
Bermondsey 23 0.80x
Erith 23 7.05x
Leicester St Margaret 23 0.88x
Llandaff 23 4.09x
Reading St Mary 23 3.94x
Billinghay 22 46.01x
Chipping Norton 22 15.88x
Fulham London 22 1.56x
Oxford St Giles 22 7.70x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Franklin surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 593
Elizabeth 372
Sarah 364
Eliza 197
Jane 194
Ann 181
Emma 179
Annie 167
Alice 158
Emily 144
Ellen 137
Martha 97
Hannah 82
Caroline 73
Edith 73
Charlotte 69
Fanny 66
Florence 62
Harriet 59
Louisa 58
Ada 57
Kate 56
Maria 56
Rose 56
Anne 49
Margaret 48
Lucy 47
Amelia 44
Harriett 43
Clara 42
Agnes 34
Susan 32
Esther 30
Frances 30
Jessie 25
Minnie 25
Catherine 24
Gertrude 23
Julia 23
Sophia 21
Elizth. 20
Lydia 20
Matilda 20
Rebecca 20
Eleanor 19
Isabella 18
Laura 17
Amy 16
Ethel 15
Maud 15

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Franklin surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 657
John 517
George 357
Thomas 298
James 278
Henry 262
Charles 243
Joseph 148
Alfred 142
Frederick 118
Edward 116
Arthur 103
Robert 92
Richard 79
Albert 76
Walter 75
Harry 67
Samuel 61
Benjamin 47
Ernest 42
Herbert 42
Edwin 37
Wm. 37
Francis 34
Frank 34
David 23
Fred 23
Chas. 19
Isaac 17
Tom 17
Geo. 16
Thos. 16
Mark 15
Stephen 15
Philip 14
Jesse 13
Fredk. 12
Edmund 11
Percy 11
Jabez 9
Job 9
Sidney 9
W. 9
Andrew 8
Frederic 8
Willie 8
Alexander 7
Augustus 7
Fredrick 7
Leonard 7

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Franklin households.

FAQ

Franklin surname: questions and answers

How common was the Franklin surname in 1881?

In 1881, 9,941 people were recorded with the Franklin surname. That placed it at #432 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Franklin surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 14,379 in 2016. That gives Franklin a modern rank of #438.

What does the Franklin surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a landowner or freeholder, derived from the Middle English frankelin, meaning "freeman."

What does the Franklin map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Franklin bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.