I think it might be considered hipsterish by Nameberry because the sound of it is
unfashionable - not because it is fashionable, like
Atticus or
Isla are. I'd say
Francis and
Frankie are more hipster, while
Frank is more retro and risky (not really in a good way, but it benefits from some famous bearers). I think
Frank is in the same league as
Walter and
Arthur and
Fred - way, way out of style, but common enough and dignified enough, and not so fashion-driven that it makes a statement like "I'm so cool, I can carry off a name from a glamorous past era, that you had forgotten existed."
I thought long and hard about naming my son
Francis, because it's a family name and I really like it. But my husband would not have wanted to call him
Francis. So I was looking at
Frankie (has greasy 50s stereotype I don't like) and
Frank (which to me is a fusty old man name like
Earl or
Wayne, since it was the name my uncle and grandfather went by). So,
Francis got taken off my shortlist.
I've seen one young man with the name
Francis on his name tag. I've not run across any young Franks or Frankies at all. I think it's fairly infrequent still.
This message was edited 2/27/2012, 7:20 PM