English name of Latin origin.
It is associated with a Germanic tribe, called the Franks.
During the periods of Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages, the Franks settled in the territories of Europe, now called France and Netherlands and created the Kingdom of the Franks, also called Francia or Frankia.
The name of the tribe derives from a type of spear.
Later, being Frank became a synonym of being a free man and from that came the adjective “frank”.
It is quite common to find various forms of the name combined with the different forms of the name Francis.
Frank is also a diminutive of Francis, as in the case of singer Frank Sinatra, whose full name was Francis Albert Sinatra.
It is a name brought to England by the Normans.
Frank is a given name in its own right too, and it was first recorded as such since the period of the Carolingians, around 750 A.D.
The older Germanic form of the name, Francho or Franko, is recorded in the 8th century.
Variants of the names are Franco, Franck, Frankie.
Frank is sometimes used as a feminine name as well, usually in the form of Frankie, Franca, and France.
Famous bearers are Frank Sinatra, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Capra, Frank Gehry, Frank Zappa, Frank Baum, Frank Langella, Frank Serpico, Frank Lampard, Frank Beard, Frank Ocean, Frank Grillo, Frank Turner, Frank Borman, Frank Rijkaard, Frank Vincent, Frank London, Frank Thomas.
Frank Sinatra is one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century.
He was also an actor and a producer with a very personalized and exceptional style.
His first album, “The voice of Frank Sinatra”, was released in 1946.
Sinatra had an extraordinary gift. He was able to sing older songs, some of them forgotten in his time, and reinterpret them in a way that demonstrated their everlasting appeal.
His records became gold, platinum and some of them triple platinum. A fair estimate is that he sold more than 150 million records worldwide.
Frank seems to be a name that creates a positive influence, especially to those who get involved with music.
Another important musician named Frank, was Frank Zappa.
Zappa was a guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer and producer of both records and films.
He was a pioneer of recording and audio techniques, a real music genius.
Enjoy Frank’s live performance of “That’s Life”, the number four hit, on the Billboard Hot 100, written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon: