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The term Frank in eastern Mediterranean countries was used, in various vernacular forms, to denote the Crusaders and their descendants, and the American surname may also be an Americanized form of such a form.English, Dutch, German, etc.: from the personal name Frank, in origin an ethnic name for a Frank.
Ultimately from the Germanic tribal name of the Franks, in the early medieval Frankish Empire, the status of being a Frank became synonymous with that of a free man; hence also the English adjective frank (Middle English, from Old French franc, 12th century).ltimately from the Germanic tribal name of the Franks, in the early medieval Frankish Empire, the status of being a Frank became synonymous with that of a free man; hence also the English adjective frank (Middle English, from Old French franc, 12th century).