Germann was born in Peru, Miami County, Indiana, the second child of Mary Fredericke Mueller (1864–1942) and Gustave Adolph Germann (1860–1940). His only sibling was Albert Fredrick Ottomar Germann (1886–1976), who was also a physical chemist. Frank Germann graduated from Peru High School in 1906. He received the A.B. in physics from Indiana University in 1911. He received the Sc.D. degree (docteur ès sciences physiques) from the University of Geneva (Geneva, Switzerland) in 1914 with research  under the guidance of Philippe-Auguste Guye (1862–1922).