I feel like I have the wrong idea about frame sizes- does it mean your bones are wider, denser or both depending on size?

I know about how to figure out your frame size and everything but I’m just worried that I have the wrong idea about how frame sizes work. I thought that someone with a small frame would have small shoulders, a small head, etc., and a medium frame would have a medium head, medium shoulders, etc. and large frame would have larger shoulders or a bigger head (no offense to anybody), etc.

So, then I thought I was the only person with a medium frame at school because I didn’t see anyone else with a head as big as mine or hands or wrist, etc. However, it turns out, during a discussion with a friend who I always assumed was small framed, she has a medium frame as well and  her wrist is the exact same size as mine.  But she has small-ish shoulders, hands and head. I’m not sure if it’s just her.

Looking around, it seems a lot more girls are medium framed than I thought. But how can this be if apparently only about 20% of women actually have larger frames and most women have small frames?

Also, most of those girls who have “medium frames” seem to have small heads, hands, shoulders, etc. just like the “small framed” girls. So am I wrong in thinking that a larger frame means a bigger head, bigger hands, shoulders, etc.? Or does it mean that no matter your frame size, your head and everything else will be still be small but instead of being wider, your bones are just denser?

Anyways, most of these people are ectomorph so I wonder if that has something to do with it. But does being mesomorph mean that even if I had a small frame, my shoulders and head would look bigger than what’s supposed to be for my frame and so forth? 

(I'm a medium frame but I've been told I have a huge head and hands but don't know if that's actually the case because it was short people with dainty bones who told  me this, no offense to anybody-- maybe anything other than small heads like theirs are big in their opinion)

I’m not trying to sound ignorant or repeat the same question over and over about frame sizes- I just want to be sure that I didn’t get the wrong idea.

The only experience I have with that is I know a girl with a very small frame size who has a tiny head! She can't buy like, regular hats or even sunglasses because her head is too narrow and small.

She's also kind of a b**** so I tell myself that her brain is just really tiny, lol. But I'm sure that's not what it is. In general though, I don't tend to notice the size of peoples' heads. I have really big hands and fairly broad shoulders, but my wrists are pretty small. I would guess it varies a lot.

Frame size isn't a scientific thing, by any means, and there's no 'standard' human.   I think the 'crunch area', hoever is the torso, which is where most of us carry our body-weight.   Shoulders, ribcage, hips, thighs..... rather than feet, heads and hands.   Once you're in that healthy BMI range of 20-25, therefore, it's all rather subjective.   As someone that looks like a complete skeleton below a BMI of 23/24 I know I've probably got a larger frame!  Trust your judgement. 

I think frame size is just a decriptive term for your bone structure. People don't really have more dense or less dense bones unless theres a medical reason for it (like brittle bone disease). Most womens bones actually wiegh about the same - its the shape and size that are different. The key thing is if you have a tiny frame then a weight that would look good on a large frame may make you look big. I think everyones mismatched though - I have a large frame by the wrist test, but really I look like a medium frame, and I have tiny hands and feet.

i think one should also factor in muscle/fat composition when they think about their body type in relation to a healthy bmi.  i have tried numerous times to stick to a weight lifting regiment but it's incredibly discouraging because my body doesnt not want to build muscle.  yet i know some female friends who live relatively sedetary lifestyles and yet have much more muscle, are stronger and complain about building muscle too easily.

and i agree with the poster above about mismatched frame parts.  i have tiny wrists, and yet the palm surface is large and my fingers are remarkably long, making my hands spread larger then a lot of men.

This is something I've always wondered too... so thanks for asking!  I would be considered a "small" frame by the "fingers around wrist" measurement, but I carry my weight evenly, and well (no one believes that I weigh 184 lbs) and build muscle easily.  Does this mean I am then a larger frame than I think?  I also have slightly broader shoulders and a large chest.  It's VERY confusing isn't it?

i have been puzzled by this same thing!  according to this website, i have a small frame as my wrists are pretty small.  but i have a HUGE ribcage, and if i were to be any smaller than about 135 lbs, i'd start to look sickly.  all of my bones poke out at about 140 lbs.  i'm between 5'7" and 5'8", but i could NEVER be smaller than a size 7.  even with no skin on me, my hips would be too big to fit in anyting smaller.  so i don't feel like i have a small frame at all.

^^^

I'm the same way. By the C.C. test I'm a small frame but at 145 at 5 foot 5 my ribs stick out. I carry all my weight in my butt and thighs though- I wear a size 12! I definitely don't think I'm a small frame at all. It is confusing, eh?

.. and how "overlappy" is small? My fingers overlap but only by a centimeter or so.

I definitely don't think that head size has anything to do with it.  I have a small frame and a large head.  It may have something to do with the fact that I'm 5'10", but I definitely don't feel like a small-framed person.  The weight ranges work for me though so I'll go with it.