Frank (given name)
| Frank | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | from the name of the Franks |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Francis, François, Francisco, Franklin, Franco, Franz |
 |
Look up Frank or frank in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Frank /ˈfræŋk/ is a masculine given name.
Ultimately from the Germanic tribal name of the Franks, in the early medieval Frankish Empire, the status of being "a Frank" became synonymous with that of a free man; hence also the English adjective frank (Middle English, from Old French franc, 12th century).
Use as a given name seems to arise already in the Carolingian period; the Old High German form Francho, Franko is on record from the 8th century.[1] While Frank is a given name in its own right, in fact reflecting the Old Frankish form *Frank, the given name in the United States arose again in the 20th century as a short from of Francis (which is itself a shortening of Franciscus, i.e. "the Frenchman", in reference to Saint Francis of Assisi), as popularized by Frank Sinatra (born Francis Albert Sinatra, 1915–1998).
People with the given name
- In arts and entertainment
Also see Frank in fictional characters
In architecture
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959)
- Frank Gehry (born 1929)
In comics
- Frank Bellamy (1917–1976), British comics artist
- Frank Brunner (born 1949), American comics artist
- Frank Giacoia (1924–1988), American comics artist
- Frank Le Gall (born 1959), French comics author
- Frank Madsen (born 1962), Danish comics artist
- Frank Margerin (born 1952), French comics author
- Frank Miller (born 1957), American comics author
- Frank Pé (born 1956), Belgian comics author
- Frank Springer (1929–2009), American comics artist
- Frank Thomas (comics) (1914–1968), American cartoonist; creator of The Eye
- Frank Tieri, American comics writer
In film and television
- Frank Borzage (1894–1962), American film director and actor
- Frank Caliendo (born 1974), American comedy actor, impressionist and comedian, host of the television show Frank TV
- Frank Capra (1897–1991), American film director
- Frank Delfino (1911-1997), American actor
- Franky G (born 1965), American film and television actor
- Frank Gorshin (1933–2005), American actor and comedian from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Frank Muller (1951–2008), Dutch audio book narrator and actor
- Frank Somerville (born 1958), news anchor
- Frank M. Thomas (1889–1989), American actor
- Frank Vincent (born 1939), American actor
In literature
- Frank Chin (born 1940), Chinese-American author
- Frank Conniff (born 1958), American actor and writer who portrayed TV's Frank
- Frank Herbert (1920–1986), science fiction writer, author of the Dune series
- Frank Lebby Stanton (1857–1927), American lyricist
- Frank McCourt (1930–2009), Irish-American writer
- Frank Stella (born 1936), American painter and printmaker
In music
- Frank Bello (born 1965), American bassist of thrash metal band Anthrax
- Frank Black (born 1965), American musician
- Frank Gambale (born 1958), Australian jazz fusion guitarist
- Frank Iero (born 1981), former rhythm guitarist for the band My Chemical Romance and lead singer for the band Leathermouth
- Frank Klepacki (born 1974), American video game music composer best known for his work on the Command & Conquer series
- Frank Marino (born 1954), Canadian guitarist and hard rock band leader
- Frank Ocean (born 1987), American musician
- Frank Sinatra (1915–1998), American singer, actor and dancer
- Frank Turner (born 1981), British folk/punk singer songwriter
- Frank Edwin Wright III (known as Tre Cool, born 1972), drummer of the band Green Day
- Frank Zappa (1940–1993), American musician and composer
In radio
- Frank Sontag (born 1955), talk radio host
In sports
- Frank Beltre (born 1990), American football player
- Frank Broers (born 1977), Dutch football player
- Frank Bruno (born 1961), British WBC heavyweight boxing champion
- Frank Bykowski (1915-1985), American football player
- Frank Dehne (born 1976), German volleyball player
- Frank Dueckerhoff (born 1962), German ice hockey defenceman
- Frank Giorgi (born 1981), Australian kickboxer
- Frank Henry (cricketer) (dates unknown), English cricketer
- Frank Hood (1908-1955), American football player
- Frank Kooiman (born 1970), Dutch football player
- Frank Lampard (born 1978), English football player
- Frank Liivak (born 1996), Estonian football player
- Frank Mahoney (1901-1961), American football player
- Frank McConnell (born 1887), Canadian athlete
- Frank McPhee (American football) (1931-2011), American football player
- Frank Minini (1921-2005), American football player
- Frank Mir (born 1979), American mixed martial artist
- Frank Moreno (born 1965), Cuban judoka
- Frank Müller (born 1968), German decathlete
- Frank Nasworthy, American surfing and skateboarding enthusiast, introduced the urethane skateboard wheel and founded Cadillac Wheels Company
- Frank Patrick (running back) (1915–1992), American football player
- Frank Patrick (quarterback) (born 1947), American football player
- Frank Patrick (ice hockey) (1885–1960), Canadian ice hockey player
- Frank-Paul Nu'uausala (born 1987), New Zealand Rugby League player
- Frank Rijkaard (born 1962), Dutch football player and manager
- Frank Robinson (born 1935), Hall of Fame North American baseball player and manager
- Frank Pritchard (born 1983), Australian-New Zealand Rugby League player
- Frank Sinclair (born 1971), English-born Jamaican football player
- Frank Thomas (American football) (1898–1954)
- Frank Thomas (designated hitter) (born 1968), Major League Baseball player in the American League from 1990 to 2008
- Frank Thomas (outfielder), (born 1929) Major League Baseball player in the National League from 1951 to 1966
In visual arts and animation
- Frank Miles (1852–1891), British artist
- Frank Thomas (animator) (1912–2004), one of Walt Disney's team of animators known as the Nine Old Men
- Other
- Frank Abagnale (born 1948), former confidence trickster, check forger, skilled impostor and escape artist
- Frank Barnett (born 1933), 49th Governor of American Samoa
- Frank Bossard (1912–2001), Secret Intelligence Service agent convicted of spying for the USSR.
- Frank Bainimarama (born 1954), Commander of the Fijian Military Forces and Interim Prime Minister of Fiji
- Frank Cooper (Australian politician) (1872–1949), Australian politician
- Frank Cooper III, business executive, branded entertainment leader
- Frank Dobson (born 1940), British politician
- Frank DeSimone (1909–1967), Italian American mobster
- Frank Ebenezer Hill (1880–1932), American Medal of Honor recipient
- Frank James (1843–1915), notorious 19th century outlaw and member of the James-Younger Gang
- Frank Jenner (1903–1977), English Australian evangelist
- Frank van Kappen (born 1941), Dutch soldier and politician
- Frank J. Low (1933–2009), American physicist
- Frank Lowy (born 1930), Australian businessman
- Frank Mockler (1909–1993), 47th Governor of American Samoa
- Frank Schilling (born 1970), domain name and Internet investor
See also
- Franc (disambiguation)
- Frances (disambiguation)
- Francis (disambiguation)
- Franck (disambiguation)
- Frankie (disambiguation)
- Franks (disambiguation)