Frank (given name)
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old High German |
| Meaning | from the name of the Franks |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Francis, François, Francisco, Franklin, Franco, Franz |
Frank /fræŋk/ 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 form 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).[citation needed]
People with the given name
In arts
Also see Frank in fictional characters
- Frank Marshall (photographer) (born 1985), South African photographer
- 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
- Frank Frazetta (1928 – 2010), American fantasy and science fiction artist
- Frank Stella (born 1936), American painter and printmaker
- Frank O'Hara (1926-1966), American writer, poet, and art critic
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 Cirocco (born 1956), 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 Marshall (producer) (born 1946) American film producer
- Frank Morgan (1890-1949), American character actor
- Frank Muller (1951–2008), Dutch audio book narrator and actor
- Frank Oz (born 1944), American actor and puppeteer
- Frank Somerville (born 1958), news anchor
- Frank M. Thomas (1889–1989), American actor
- Frank Twomey, the man from children's television programme Bosco
- Frank Vincent (born 1939), American actor
- Frank Welker (born 1946), American voice actor
In literature
- Frank Chin (born 1940), Chinese-American author
- Frank Conniff (born 1958), American actor and writer who portrayed TV's Frank
- Frank Harris (1885-1931), Irish American journalist and autobiographer
- 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
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), 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 Marshall (pianist) (1883–1959), Spanish pianist and pedagogue
- Frank Ocean (born 1987), American musician
- Frank Sinatra (1915–1998), American singer, actor and dancer
- Frank Slay (1930–2017), American songwriter, record producer
- 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 Abruzzino (1908–1986), American football player
- Frank Albrechtsen New Zealand association football player
- 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 Ginda (born 1997), American football player
- Frank Giorgi (born 1981), Australian kickboxer
- Frank Henry (cricketer) (dates unknown), English cricketer
- Frank Herron (born 1994), American football player
- Frank Hood (1908–1955), American football player
- Frank Jacobsson (1930–2017), Swedish football player
- Frank Kooiman (born 1970), Dutch football player
- Frank Lampard (born 1978), English football player
- Frank Leatherwood (born 1977), American football player
- Frank Simmons Leavitt (1891–1953), professional wrestler, stuntman, and actor, known by his ring name Man Mountain Dean
- Frank Liivak (born 1996), Estonian football player
- Frank Mahoney (1901–1961), American football player
- Frank Manumaleuga (born 1956), American football player
- Frank Marshall (footballer, born 1904) (1904–1928), Scottish association football player
- Frank Marshall (footballer, born 1929), English association football player and coach
- Frank Marshall (umpire) (1858–????), American professional baseball umpire
- Frank Marshall (rugby referee), 19th century
- Frank Matteo (1896-1983), 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 Mundy (1918–2009), former NASCAR Cup Series driver
- 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 Ragnow (born 1996), American football 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 Sandercock (1887–1942), a Canadian ice hockey administrator
- Frank Sargent (sports executive) (1902–1988), a Canadian sports executive in ice hockey and curling
- Frank Sinclair (born 1971), English-born Jamaican football player
- Frank Spellacy (born 1901), American football player
- Frank Spellman (1922–2017), Olympic champion weightlifter
- 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
- Frank Trigilio (1919–1992), American football player
- Frank van Hattum (born 1958), New Zealand association football player
Other
- Frank Abagnale (born 1948), former confidence trickster, check forger, skilled impostor and escape artist
- Frank Adams (1930–1989), British mathematician
- Frank Bainimarama (born 1954), Commander of the Fijian Military Forces and Interim Prime Minister
- Frank Barnett (born 1933), 49th Governor of American Samoa
- Frank Bossard (1912–2001), Secret Intelligence Service agent convicted of spying for the USSR
- Frank Buchman (1878-1961), American evangelist
- Frank Cali (1965–2019), American crime boss
- Frank Cooper (politician) (1872–1949), Australian politician
- Frank Cooper III, business executive, branded entertainment leader
- Frank Dobson (1940–2019), British politician
- Frank DeSimone (1909–1967), Italian American mobster
- Frank Di Mauro (Born 1973) Co-founder of Bookitbee
- Frank Marcus Fernando (1931–2009), 3rd Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chilaw
- Frank Grevil (born 1960), Danish whistleblower
- Frank Heart (1929–2018), American computer engineer and Internet pioneer
- Frank Ebenezer Hill (1880–1932), American Medal of Honor recipient
- Frank K. Houston (1881-1973), president and chairman of the Chemical Corn Exchange Bank in the 1940s.
- Frank James (1843–1915), 19th-century outlaw and member of the James-Younger Gang
- Frank Jenner (1903–1977), English Australian evangelist
- Frank Larkin, disability rights activist
- Frank Charles Laubach (1884–1970), Congregational Christian missionary and mystic
- Frank Laukien, American billionaire businessman
- Frank J. Low (1933–2009), American physicist
- Frank Lowy (born 1930), Australian businessman
- Frank Marshall (chess player) (1877–1944), American chess master
- Frank J. Marshall (engineer), investment banker and former engineer V.P. of Cisco
- Frank Marshall, Baron Marshall of Leeds (1915–1990), British lawyer and politician
- Frank Marshall (priest), Dean of Barbados
- Frank Mockler (1909–1993), 47th Governor of American Samoa
- Frank Schilling (born 1970), domain name and Internet investor
- Frank Smith (psycholinguist), British psycholinguist
- Frank van Kappen (born 1941), Dutch soldier and politician
- Frank Vitkovic, murderer in the Queen Street massacre in Melbourne in 1987
- Frank Wassenberg (born 1966), Dutch politician
- Frank E. Wheelock (1863–1932), a founder and first mayor of Lubbock, Texas
- Frank T. M. White (1909–1971), Australian mining and metallurgical engineer and mineral science educator.
See also
- Franc (disambiguation)
- Frances (disambiguation)
- Francis (disambiguation)
- Franck (disambiguation)
- Frankie (disambiguation)
- Franks (disambiguation)
References
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