Given name & surname · also German
Franke
Franke is a surname from Middle High German, ultimately from Proto-Germanic. It is used in German.
Original GermanFrank
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Franke comes from Middle High German, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Middle High German Franke, from Old High German Franko, from Frankish *Franko, from Proto-Germanic *frankô.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1947. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Franke through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 67
- 67 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2006
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2006. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 241 as a first name in 2020; 7,008 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Franke’s family of names
In German usage, Franke as a surname has a related form in Frank. In German usage, Franke as a surname has a related form in Frank. In German usage, Franke as a surname has a related form in Franck.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Franke has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
19 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Franke
- Franke Sloothaakequestrianborn 1958
- Franke PreviteAmerican singer, songwriter, and Academy Award-winning composerborn 1946
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Franke, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Zinn
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Aymer is a masculine given name, probably from Germanic, ultimately from Frankish. It is used in Old French.
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“moat, ditch”
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“steel”
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Drexler
“turner, lather”
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