Frankfort, Kentucky, was named for pioneer Stephen Frank’s crossing of the Kentucky River.
According to the traditional account, Frank was killed by Native Americans while helping travelers cross the river at a place called Frank’s Ford. The settlement that developed there eventually took the name Frankfort, with the spelling influenced by the German city of Frankfurt.
Frankfort became Kentucky’s permanent capital in 1792, when the commonwealth entered the Union. Its location along the Kentucky River placed it between the state’s larger cities, Lexington and Louisville, and helped make it a practical political center.
The city is sometimes confused with Frankfurt, Germany, but the Kentucky capital uses a single “u” after the “Frank.” Frankfort is also the seat of Franklin County, although the city itself was named for the local crossing rather than the county.