Baby Name to Consider: Franklin for a Girl

Swistle,

First, I’ve been a lover of baby names since I was a little girl (I’m 26) and your blog has helped me see that I am not alone in this hobby. I say hobby because I have no plans to have a baby in the next couple years. Although I have helped a friend or two name their babies, so it has been helpful, at least.

Anyways, I was watching Marvel’s Daredevil last night and loved that Nelson is nicknamed Foggy, by way of Franklin. And I thought how fun to name your son Franklin and then come up with Foggy. It’s weird, but I’m kind of loving it!

So, I’m writing it down on paper to see what it’d look like and all that jazz… And instead of seeing Franklin, I saw Frank-lin. And that got me thinking, is Franklin useable for a girl’s name?? And once I got thinking, I had to send an email to see what you thought?!

I realize it’s probably a strong male name for most people, maybe even myself. But I wonder… it’s got the appeal of being a surname name (which is all the rage now), girls are already named and nicknamed Frankie, and it ends in Lin/Lynn (which could give her another option if she dislikes it which she’s older).

So I know this is not your typical Q/A but I really hope you post it. I’d love to hear what you and the readers think.

Thank you,
Natasha

 

I’m split: half of me is saying, “Oh, yeah, I can see it: kind of like what happened with Lachlan/Locklyn, and the -lin ending could definitely sound more like a girl name (Madelyn, Katelyn, Carolyn, a million others), and I don’t see why not!” And the other half of me is saying, “Noooooooooooooooo!”

Let’s see what’s happening with the name’s current usage. The Social Security Administration reports that in 2013, there were 545 new baby boys named Franklin; it isn’t in the data base at all for girls. But let’s check spellings that use a Y, a common feminizing technique: in 2013, there were 20 new baby boys named Franklyn, but it still isn’t in the data base for girls. Even names such as Joshua and Robert are in the data base for SOME girls (13 and 8 respectively in 2013), so I think it is safe to say that the name Franklin is currently used nearly exclusively for boys in the United States.

I think it could be used for a girl, but that it would make a strong, strong statement, similar to naming a girl Joshua (soft sounds and an -a ending like so many girl names) or Robert (girls already named and nicknamed Bobbi and Robin). Unless the usage changed, she would spend her entire life dealing with paperwork errors and surprised/confused reactions at a much higher rate than average; not an enormous deal at all for someone who liked that, but a burden/bore for someone who didn’t (or for someone who enjoyed it the first thousand times but then wearied of it). If on the other hand, the usage DID change, and Franklin/Franklyn became a unisex name, it would be a different story and I’d have a different opinion.

For me, Franklin fails the “Would I want this name myself?” test, even though I love the name Franklin, love the nickname Frankie for Frances or Francesca, and don’t mind regularly needing to spell my name for people. Part of the appeal of boyish nicknames for feminine names, I think, is that it’s a individualizing choice: the feeling is that it’s a bit of a rebellion against a feminine name or traditional path. “My parents tried to name me something frilly and girly, but that’s not me!” Swapping that option, so that the rebellious choice is choosing a feminine, traditional nickname, feels less exciting.

It fits with a current trend for celebrity baby names: recent baby girls have been named Maxwell, Lincoln, Owen, Wyatt, and James.

I think it would make sibling names challenging. Sister names wouldn’t be too difficult (Maxwell, Lincoln, Owen, Wyatt, and James would all fit the style), but what would be a good brother name for a girl named Franklin?

I’d love to see the name Franklin get more popular for boys, and I’d also love to see Frances and Francesca get more popular for girls. So although half of me thinks Franklin for a girl is a justifiable decision, and a creative and interesting choice if shock value is one of your naming preferences (and that IS a familiar naming preference), the other half of me thinks there are other great established choices that are still pleasingly surprising without being so startling and potentially difficult. If you did use it, I would recommend spelling it Franklyn to assist the Lyn/Lynnie nickname.

48 thoughts on “Baby Name to Consider: Franklin for a Girl

  1. Emily

    Where does it end? Franklin is a male name. The only way I could support someone naming their daughter Franklin is if they’re also considering Martha or Hannah for a son.

    Reply
    1. Kaela

      And Julian and Bennett and Jordan, among others, were used for females in the Medieval period in England, though they are now mostly boy (even Jordan has gone back to majority boy after a flirt with unisex/majority girl in the 1990s). Names and gender are fluid. Personally I don’t think there’s any need to panic over continued fluidity and change. What exactly is at stake? What do you think is being lost? Is it really worth it? Many cultures, especially in Asia, have gotten along fine for many millennia with gender ambiguous names. It’s not really a big deal, if you think about it. I understand where you’re coming from from a feminist perspective– and I am a feminist. But on this issue, I think it goes both ways more than is apparent at the moment, and I don’t think using traditionally male names for girls is as much a threat as it may seem at first glance. I think it is part of a larger trend that will also see names like Robin, Cameron, and Sidney return for boys.

      Reply
      1. anonymous

        Maybe Jordan has “returned to being a boy’s name”, but that’s ONLY because Jordyn is considered the girl spelling and is STILL raising the charts. Jordan is 260th for girls, Jordyn is 133 and Jordynn is 809.

        I think a lot of the push back on male names on females is less the “they’re taking ALL the boys names” and more the *reason* parents are picking boys names for daughters. I think it’s a commentary on the messed up state of our culture that parents are picking bold/strong/capable names for their daughters and those names are male names. The cultural obsession with masculine being *the* gender associated with capable/intelligent needs to stop and there are PLENTY of strong feminine names to pick from.

        I do grit my teeth when I meet little girls named Everett (I know two), or Levi or Stephen… it’s not a name I would want for myself and it’s a lot of pressure to put on a child to have to explain their name for the rest of their lives. Maybe your child will have the personality that enjoys the attention (like my sister-in-law Stuart) and maybe your child will be like my husband, Jordan, and hate the constant questions. That’s a big gamble to take.

        Reply
        1. Kaela

          Look, we can disagree on this and both still be feminists. I used to feel about boy names used on girls exactly as you do– I found it clearly and unambiguously part of the misogynistic, sexist culture that privileges masculine traits over the feminine, and that perhaps expresses a conscious (or unconscious) desire on the part of the parents for a male child. This was backed up by knowing a family of 4 girls where the youngest two had “boy” names (Elliott and another very similar to that). But then again, I also knew a very religious family of 6 girls when I was growing up where every girl had a feminization of a male name– think Erica, Roberta, Josephine, Louisa, etc. This was purposeful on the part of the father, who chose all the names– I was friends with the eldest girl, and as an early name nerd, I pried about how each younger sibling was named. So, it’s not just using names like Elliott or Everett for girls– a sexist, anti-female orientation can be expressed through a name like Edwina, too. It’s not so clear.

          My feelings about the issue have evolved as I’ve come to know queer/lesbian/radical families where the kids were given unisex names, and even boy/boyish names on girls. Peoples’ choices are complex, and it’s more enlightening not to reduce them with quick judgment.

          And to come back to Jordan for a moment…it has been a unisex name throughout its history. It started being used in Western Europe as a Biblical place name in commemoration of the Crusades starting in the Middle Ages. It went all-masculine for awhile, but now it’s drifted back. Are most people choosing Jordan/Jordyn/Jordynne for their daughters knowing its long history? No, probably not. But the history is there regardless, and I think most of them are choosing the name because they like the sound–not because of a desire for a boy. With a name like Stephen for a girl, it’s a whole other can of worms. I’d put Franklin somewhere in between the two on the spectrum, because it has a “feminine” sound (lin). Most boyish names for girls come from the Jordan (or Evelyn, or Elliott, or Madison, or Ashley) category, where the feminine sound is already there (Eve, Ellie), Maddie, Lee), or there’s a deep history of unisex use lurking under the surface.

          Reply
  2. Colleen

    I can’t adequately express how much I hope no one ever uses this name for their daughter. People can choose to name their child whatever they want, I get that, but that doesn’t stop me from sincerely hoping that they don’t do things like this.

    Reply
  3. Sheri

    I think it could work, but with the Would I Want This Test, I’d definitely rather have Francesca or Frances to get the nickname Frankie.

    Franklin is quite a historical character in my mind, so he reads as male, along with Lincoln and Truman and Harrison and Jefferson, etc etc etc =)

    Reply
  4. Kaela

    I think yes, rationally speaking, it “works” for a girl– but like for Swistle, this fails the “Would I want to be named this?” test for myself. I’d probably exclusively go by Frankie and consider changing my name to Frances, if this was me.

    That said, I like Franklin a lot for a boy. It’s a great, underused name.

    So– not the end of the world, Franklin for a girl, but not ideal either.

    (Disclaimer: I also dislike Maxwell, Lincoln, James, etc for girls, so I’m biased– it’s not my style. That said, I don’t oppose using “boy names” for girls, or vice versa, on any kind of moral grounds.)

    Reply
    1. Ashley

      I completely agree. I have nothing against names becoming unisex, but I personally wouldn’t want to be named Franklin. Or even Franklyn. Unless I was named after a family member and it meant a lot using it.

      When I taught elementary school, I learned my first year that you can’t assume you know the child’s gender based on their name. So many names are unisex now.

      Reply
  5. Gail

    I think the only possible “brother” names for a girl named Franklin would end up being names like Wolfgang or Beowulf–strongly mythical, non-traditional, not surnames. Unless the family wanted to do a total flip and name their sons Ruth or Olive or Agnes (going for the same era, here).

    And again, I’m disheartened because has anyone ever written in about naming a son Patricia? All the boy-name queries in this vein are more like “Has Harper or Emerson become too skewed toward girls to use?”

    Swistle, a most excellent response.

    Reply
  6. Kaycee

    I’m gonna be the outlier here and say I absolutely love this for a girl. I, too, am a lover of baby names and I actually would love this for either a boy or a girl. my only hesitancy is that is reminds me of a turtle because of the cartoon! I think that I’d definitely do a non traditional spelling though if I were to use it for a girl (Franklynn).

    Reply
  7. Christine

    Meh, it doesn’t bother me if someone wanted to use it on their girl child. The fact that people seem to take masculine names and use them for girls only bothers me so much as I find that in life women and girls are undervalued. What’s that quote by Jessica Valenti, “the worst thing you can call a girl is a girl, and the worst thing you can call a boy is a girl. Being a woman is the ultimate insult.” So as much as this trend reminds me of general misogyny, it bothers me. But like on a specific kid, on a case by case basis? Free to do you.

    That said, I wouldn’t want the name for myself.

    Reply
  8. Emily

    Generally, I’m opposed to confusing names (either to pronounce or to spell) BUT I have an odd soft spot for boys-names-used-for-girls. I grew up in a very religious house and was told the Bible story of King David and his wife “Michal.” Now whether the Hebrew “Michal” is supposed to be pronounced as “Michael”, I don’t know, but that’s how my parents pronounced it. Ever since, I thought it was extremely cool to use a strict-boys’ name on a girl. That said, would I do this for my own child? No, because my husband would probably refuse to sign the birth certificate. But would I myself want to be named Franklin or Michal? YES. Emily is so overused that I used to dream as a child about having a cool “unique” name. I would have loved to be Michal or Franklin.

    Reply
  9. Reagan

    When I see a strictly used for boys names on a girl, I immediately think that the parents were disappointed that the child was a girl instead of a boy. I know this often is not true but I would never want to risk making a daughter like I wasn’t absolutely thrilled that she was born female. Now if the spelling was Franklyn, I might instead think the parents were trying to honor a male relative and were trying to be creative.

    Would I want to be named Franklin? Absolutely not. Even though I am a bit of a tomboy, I wouldn’t like that name. It just doesn’t allow for anything but the “leaning toward masculine feel.” I would much prefer to be Named Frances or Francesca and have a feminine option when I wanted to express my femininity and a masculine option (Frank or Frankie) when I want to project more of the tomboy.

    The problem when we name kids is that we don’t know what they will be e.g. girly-girl, tomboyish, shy, athletic, strong, whatever. A girl who is into dolls, dresses, laces and bows with friends named Olivia and Isabelle may really hate being named Franklyn and not feel like she has a very pretty name. A girl who is more quirky may love having a name that has people scratching their heads.

    It is a risk I wouldn’t take with my childs name. Not in a world where there are so many incredible naming options.

    Reply
    1. Alice

      interesting.. i’ve never thought the boys name = parents wanted a boy. (this may be influenced by the fact that i have a boy’s name for a middle name due to family tradition around naming first born sons, which i was not… but still never got the impression my parents wished i were a boy.)

      Reply
  10. Alice

    I’m surprised to find myself with Kaycee – I actually really like it for a girl’s name. I am somewhat attracted to male names for women (although usually as a nickname) but for some reason this one strikes me as a perfectly acceptable full name for a woman. I would have a VERY hard time naming a daughter Joshua, but this doesn’t seem at all in the same category to me. I can’t explain why! I definitely don’t have the immediate strong negative feelings that most people here do, though. Quite the opposite. I think of it as charming, like Blake for a girl a la Blake Lively.

    Reply
    1. Gwen

      I agree that naming a girl Franklin seems very different from naming her Joshua. I think it’s because to me, Franklin is primarily a surname, whereas Joshua is primarily a male first name.

      Reply
  11. Beep

    I love it for a girl name. I think the Lin/Lynn sound softens it and its history makes it strong–just what I’d want for a little girl. And I don’t see it as any odder or less appropriate for a girl than the Emerson/Madison/Elliot names in common girl usage.

    Reply
  12. Squirrel Bait

    I’m sort of lukewarm on this because it seems confusing, although there is certainly a documented benefit in having a male name on your résumé.

    When I see spellings like Franklynn, it makes me think that the person’s father had only girls and couldn’t bear to not name another human being after himself. So I cringe a little, but I wouldn’t hold it against the girl/woman.

    Reply
  13. Helena

    For me it definitely fails this “would I want this as my own name?” test because no, I would not. I think Frankie can be a cute nickname but, personally, I’d want Frances to fall back on (not as big a fan of Francesca but if it were that or Franklin, Francesca all day every day).
    I have a dislike (fair or not) for names where traditional spelling was altered to make it “feminine,” so Franklyn is a no-go for me. If I had to use this name, I’d go Franklin.
    I must also admit that my opinion is probably tainted by knowing a dog named Franklin.

    Reply
    1. Melissa Lewis

      My grandfather’s name was Franklyn Clark. My Dad’s name was Franklin Duane.
      My mom’s brother is Ronald Franklin & my great-great grandfather was named Franklin as well. I really like the name Frankie for a girl, but hate Frances and don’t care for Francesca, so Franklyn or Franklynne for a girl is pretty.

      Reply
  14. Alaina

    I would recommend it as a middle name only. I think Linden (alternate spelling of Lyndon) would be a better -lin choice.

    Reply
  15. Brooke

    I have to say this fails the “would I want this name” test for me. This is coming from someone with a name that some consider gender ambiguous.

    Maybe it’s not my taste, but I think it does send a message that men are still superior/preferred to name a daughter something like Maxwell, James or Wyatt. I think some parents do it in hopes of the opposite effect, but I don’t see them naming sons Margaret and Catherine.

    I guarantee many people name girls Nicole, Michaela and Jane without a clue that those are feminizations but they’ve been in use long enough that I wouldnt consider them statements anymore. But still it’s proof that this has been going on very long. At least they used to try to change them a bit, now it’s just Owen instead of Owena.

    Reply
  16. Alli B

    Reading through the comments I was nodding my head with the, “No, not a fan”s. I would not bestow Elliott, James, etc on my own daughter. However then I got to the Michal comment. I love the name Micah on a girl, even though it’s definitely a masculine Old Testament name. I also seriously tried to swing the vote for our daughter’s name to Gracen. (Hubby wasn’t 100%.) So. . .all that to say, I don’t know how I’d feel looking in the sweet little face of a Franklin. . .

    Reply
  17. Karen L

    When I read the tile of the post, I thought immediately of this other one: https://www.swistle.com/babynames/2010/06/01/baby-girl-ezra-sister-to-emma/ And so I was expecting less ambivalence from Swistle, who wrote of Ezra, “The masculinity of the name Ezra is not “implied” any more than the masculinity of the name Henry or John is “implied”: it is instead INDICATED.”

    I think that that is the case for Franklin as well – which is not to say that it need be automatically ruled out, so much as considered.

    I am ambivalent, too. I’m pretty sure I’d go with an altered spelling because I’d prefer those difficulties to the misgendering. (My height gets me misgendered occasionally and I dislike it when that happens.) Franklyn or Franqueline, perhaps.

    Reply
    1. Swistle Post author

      I remember that one! The main issue there was the sibling name: a sister named Emma.

      Reply
  18. M.Amanda

    Franklin just feels so masculine for me. I’d pass.

    As the mother of a boy named Wyatt and someone who is pretty easygoing, I must say I had a violent disgusted reaction to Mila and Ashton’s choice. I was still twitchy by the time Blake and Ryan had their little girl. I will stop at that.

    Reply
  19. Louise

    A friend recently announced the birth of their child Franklin Olive, sex untold. I was torn as to what would be the worse crime – a girl called Franklin, or a boy with the middle name Olive. I decided the baby had to be a boy because I couldn’t imagine Franklin being used for a girl. I think this experience, though, has made me more open to the prospect of Franklin on a girl. The baby, however, is a boy.

    Reply
  20. Bee

    I love it!! I think Franklin would work for a girl. This surprises me because I’m usually in the camp of “let the boys keep their names”!

    I love -Lin/Lynn names. And I love the name Franklin (it being a beloved family dog for 14 years, but naming a child after a pet is a different conversation).

    My husband has a very feminine name and mine sounds masculine (only 5 girls with my name and 16 boys with his name in the years we were born) so the gender of a name or explaining the name to others does not bother me.

    Reply
  21. kim

    Not a fan, at all. It’s strongly masculine, and I don’t see a lot of fluidity across genders. Names flow to the feminine, and there are neutral names, but we’re all fairly clear that Erica is a feminization of Eric, not the other way around. And while it’s not terribly unusual to see a masculine middle name on a girl, such as Ella James Smith, I’ve yet to see a boy named James Ella. Or hear from people saying I named my son Carl after his grandmother Carole.
    I work hard on being less judgemental these days, even towards babies named after barnyard fowl and wayward cattle, but I get twinges when I hear girls with highly masculine names, as if traditionally female names weren’t good enough. d

    Reply
    1. Alix

      My brother is named after our great grandmother, Alberta, and she was named for her uncle, Albert. Likewise, I’ll likely be naming a son or daughter after my own grandmother, who was named after her father. I considered Shirl for a son’s middle name, after my Nana Shirley and Ames after my mother Amy. Girls are named for their fathers all the time – why not name boys after women?

      Reply
      1. kim

        Didn’t say they shouldn’t be, just they they weren’t, very often. Shirl and Ames seem like lovely honor names, but they’re still the exceptions. If it were more common, Franklin for a girl wouldn’t bother me as much.

        Reply
  22. Alix

    I like it. I don’t think I’d use it personally because Franklin isn’t my cup of tea but it wasn’t even on my radar as a usable name for me until this post. Franklin on a girl is a game changer in how I view the name. My first and really only introduction into the name was from the cartoon, Franklin. I was too old for that at the time but never found the name attractive or something that Worked. And I like older names like Agatha and Theodore and things.

    Actually, maybe it’s like my love of Darwin. But only for a girl. I’d never name a boy Darwin. I just don’t like it.

    As for siblings, I’m of the belief that a name does not have to indicate sex or gender and if you have a sibset of Parker, Saywer. Layton, and Reese – I think it works for that family, no matter if there’s a girl in there.

    I think a girl named Franklin could pair with brothers named Theodore and Calvin. Franklin, Theodore, Phillip, Charles, Grant…
    But, who cares if she doesn’t stand out from the boys or vice versa.

    Reply
  23. Jess

    I would do this myself, but my social security database file overwhelmed my Chromebook. Was Franklin ever in play during 1890’s-1920’s when male-for-female names were in vogue? I’m thinking of the Harvey-Frankie-Bobbie set.

    Reply
    1. Jess

      I think I just answered my own question! I looked at Franklin before and after FDR, trying to find a period of max popularity:

      1890 Franklin: 120 M, 0 F
      1890 Frankie: 0 M, 17 F

      1940 Franklin: 2389 M, 11 F
      1940 Franklyn: 81 M, 0 F
      1940 Franklen: 8 M, 0 F
      1940 Frankie: 394 M, 515 F

      So, Franklin was used for girls for a period in US history, and alternate spellings seem to be not feminizations but variants of the male name. BUT Frankie has been used as a feminine name for some time! Hope this helps!

      Reply
  24. Mary

    No.

    Or, more reasoned: It might be easy to skim over Swistle’s note that baby Franklyn will spend her entire life dealing with paperwork errors and surprised reactions. Don’t underestimate that. Her *entire life.* Even if it’s fairly easily resolved with a charming explanation, those interactions add up to quite a burden. However one might feel about rightness or fairness of gender expectations and people asking personal questions about name choices, they are factors. A celebrity baby girl James or baby girl Maxwell has it easier–they’re famous, people know who they are, they’re going to have deal with fewer surprised reactions.

    Reply
  25. Kristi

    I am torn, as well! Names are so based on our experiences. In my area, Franklin is used for many boys in the Hispanic culture. I immediately thought of my Franklins I have had as students. I adore the NN Frankie for a girl, but have a very hard time seeing Franklin for a girl. Sorry :( I tried!

    If it’s the ‘lin you like: Ashlin, Aylin, Acelin, Holin, gracelin, Keelin, Kelin?

    Best of luck!!!!

    Reply
  26. Eva.G

    Now that you broke it down into Frank and Lin, I could definitely see it! It wouldn’t be a name I’d choose for myself or a daughter, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on a girl today.

    A friend just recently named her baby Charlie as her given name, with a feminine spelling of a masculine name as the middle as well. Let’s just say it was Charlie Dawn as an example. If you heard the name, you’d have no idea if it was a girl or boy, although the spelling of Dawn would give it away. I did not like the name. Not because I’m upset for any feminist/gender reason….. But it’s just not my cup of tea. I think there are so many outstanding female names out there, there’s no reason to use Maxwell, Lincoln, and James on girls. Can you? Yes. I am so happy we can name our children whatever we see fit. But I have found there are so many wonderful, underused names that there is no need to use Franklin on a girl. But I also feel that because there are so many delightfully underused names, there is no need to KEEP using Emily and Madison over and over again!! So it’s my just own preference! :)

    Reply
  27. Robert

    I have to say, I’m a little taken back at how many of you see Franklynn as, the parents wanted a boy. I would hope that a majority of parents out there are hoping for a healthy baby, regardless of gender. The comments on this blog seem to read more like a feminist group than a blog about baby names, but i digress…

    Me and my wife are expecting a little girl soon, and are still playing with names. My top choice of Jillian to accompany our first child Jack was not well received. Honestly, I don’t mind Jack and Jill, but the rest of the world is against me there. :) A year after we married my wife’s father passed away. His name was Francis, and that is the front running name at the moment, but I have to say, I’m really turned off by the potential nicknames, Fran and Frannie. I feel like Franklynn would be an easier transition to the nickname Frankie (which we both like), and she would also be less likely to be called Fran. Is it my first choice? No, but since Jillian was outed (Thanks, Internet!), and my other choices, Emerson (I thought I was being original, turned out I was wrong) and Charlotte (the newly named Princess) are out. Something in the Francis/ Frances, line is probably where we are going.

    I don’t feel terribly strong about Franklynn, but the reasons for not using this name given in the comments above are weak at best. This from a man’s perspective.
    My intention here was not to offend, but maybe seek a bit more reasoning than, “They wanted a boy!” or “That’s not a name I would want.”
    Thank you,
    Robert

    Reply
  28. Megan

    My daughter’s name is Franklynn Grace. She was born on 1/25/2015. We wanted to have feminine options to give her with Lynn, Fran, or even using Grace. However, after the first week she quickly took on the “Frankie” name. Everyone tells us how fitting her name is, even those that were not so keen of it at first. As nervous and apprehensive as I was about the name, I am so happy with my decision. My biggest challenge now is coming up with something for baby #2 that I love as much as Franklynn.

    Reply
    1. Toni

      I know this post is old, but I wanted to reach out to a fellow mom that made the choice to name their little girl Franklyn (the spelling we chose for our daughter). Couldn’t imagine her having any other name. Can’t wait for more people to see how great the name can be!

      Reply
  29. Toni

    I know this post is old, but as a mom who named my daughter Franklyn, I just wanted to let you know, we do exist! Haha! Also, as a follow up, a brother name to rival such a bold name is Lochlan. Seems to compliment his sisters name very well. 😁

    Reply

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