Explore the Family Name Frain

The meaning of Frain

1. English (of Norman origin): topographic name for someone who lived near an ash tree or ash wood, from Old French fraisne, fresne ‘ash’ (from Latin fraxinus). 2. Irish: variant of Franey 1. 3. French: habitational name from a place in the Vosges named Frain.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Frain in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Frain saw a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Frain was ranked 17,755th in the list of most common surnames and by 2010, it had dropped to 18,511th place, indicating a decrease of 4.26 percent in popularity. The number of people bearing this surname, however, increased from 1,455 in 2000 to 1,491 in 2010, a rise of 2.47 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#17,755	#18,511	-4.26%
Count	1,455	1,491	2.47%
Proportion per 100k	0.54	0.51	-5.56%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Frain

The ethnic identity tied to the surname Frain also saw some shifts during the same period according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The highest percentage of individuals with the Frain surname identified as White, although this percentage decreased slightly from 96.36 percent in 2000 to 94.3 percent in 2010. The representation of Hispanic ethnicity among those with the Frain surname saw the largest increase, jumping from 0.89 percent in 2000 to 2.15 percent in 2010—a growth of an impressive 141.57 percent. Furthermore, the proportion of individuals identifying as two or more races also grew, nearly doubling from 1.10 percent to 1.95 percent. Conversely, the percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and Black experienced a decline.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.36%	94.3%	-2.14%
Hispanic	0.89%	2.15%	141.57%
Two or More Races	1.1%	1.95%	77.27%
Black	1.1%	1.07%	-2.73%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.55%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%