Alongside theories linking Frankston’s name to early settlers, another explanation—often regarded as local folklore—suggests the suburb was named after a hotel known as “Frank Stone’s Hotel.” This idea gained popularity through the work of author Don Charlwood, who, as a student at Frankston High School, compiled a detailed local history using both written records and oral accounts. His findings were published in The Frankston & Somerville Standard on 8 February 1930.

According to Charlwood, the hotel in question was originally called the Cannanuke Inn, believed to be the first permanent building constructed in the Frankston area during the 1840s. The inn was built by early settler James Davey, who held a pre-emptive right to land in the district. Records from the Victorian Heritage Database indicate that the Cannanuke Inn once stood on the site now occupied by the Frankston Mechanics’ Institute, located at 1 Plowman Place in today’s central business district.

Charlwood’s account claims that the inn was purchased in the early 1850s by a man known as Mr. Stone. After the birth of his son, Frank, the hotel was allegedly renamed “Frank Stone’s Hotel,” with the surrounding settlement adopting a shortened version of the name—eventually becoming “Frankston” at the time of the official land sales in 1854.

However, this theory is widely questioned due to a lack of supporting licensing records for the Cannanuke Inn. While Charlwood noted that Stone bought the property from a man named Standring, historical licensing documents show that Benjamin Standring owned the Frankston Hotel between 1857 and 1860—several years after the name “Frankston” was already in use. Furthermore, the conditions of James Davey’s pre-emptive land licence explicitly prohibited him from selling or sub-letting the inn. These facts make it unlikely that the property changed hands in the manner described prior to 1854.

Adding yet another layer to the debate, historian Michael Jones introduced a different theory in his 1989 book Frankston: Resort to City. Jones suggested that Frankston was named after Sir Thomas Harte Franks, a distinguished British army general. This interpretation is supported by the naming patterns of nearby suburbs, many of which appear to reference British military figures or statesmen, including Cranbourne, Hastings, Lyndhurst, Mornington, and Pakenham.

Jones argued that these names were likely assigned by Sir Andrew Clarke, who served as Victoria’s Surveyor General between 1853 and 1858. If correct, this theory places Frankston within a broader colonial naming convention rather than linking it to a single individual or local establishment.

Together, these competing explanations highlight the complexity of Frankston’s toponymic history. Whether derived from a settler, a hotel, or a British general, the suburb’s name remains a subject of enduring fascination and local debate.