Given name & surname · also Italian
Francis
“a man from France; one who is free”
Francis is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “a man from France; one who is free.”
Original ItalianFranco
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a man from France; one who is free.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Italian.
How it developed
In Latvian usage, Francis developed from Franciscus.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In French use, Francis has a related form in François. The history of François gives this family its wider story. François’s historical associations include two kings of France: Francois I, otherwise known as Francois d’Angouléme.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Francis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 320,322
- 290,490 boys · 29,832 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 7,000 babies
- 2025
- 891
- #420 for boys · #1,685 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +11%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 88% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 769 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 420 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 9.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 6,347 in 1918. It also appeared in 122 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (78). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 138,493 as a first name in 2020; 78,198 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Francis’s family of names
Francis has a short form in Frank. In English usage, Francis shares an earlier linguistic root with Francisco. In English usage, Francis has an alternative spelling in Frances.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Francis has relatives in 39 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Latinwhere Francis comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 42
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Franciscovariant · Spanish, English
- Francesvariant · English
- Frankiediminutive · English
- Frankdiminutive · English, Faroese
- Francescovariant · Italian
- Ikediminutive · ceb
- Kikodiminutive · Tagalog
- Franzvariant · German, English
Show 34 moreShow fewer
- Francoisvariant
- Fransiscovariant
- Frannievariant
- Frantzvariant
- Frandiminutive · English
- Friscovariant
- Fransvariant · Dutch, Finnish
- Frannvariant
- Franciscusvariant · Latin, Finnish
- Franchotvariant
- Franchescovariant
- Franceshort form
- Francisslikely variant
- Kokoydiminutive · Tagalog
- Prangkoydiminutive · ceb
- Pangkoydiminutive · ceb
- Kikoydiminutive · Tagalog
- Franiodiminutive · Polish
- Ikodiminutive · ceb
- Frandsvariant · Danish
- Iskodiminutive · ceb
- Frangvariant
- Frascuelovariant
- Friskovariant
- Frasquitovariant
- Frascovariant
- Franzinvariant
- Franzenvariant
- Franzelvariant
- Frantsvariant
- Franciskusvariant
- Francheskovariant
- Franchevariant
- Françoisvariant · French
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 57
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- FrancoItalian
- Cescocognate · Italian
- Cicciocognate · Italian
- Checcocognate · Italian
- Ceccocognate · Italian
- Chiccocognate · Italian
- Franklinequivalent
- Frankoequivalent
Show 49 moreShow fewer
- Franciszekrelated form · Polish
- Franckequivalent
- Pacosee also · Spanish
- FrancescCatalan
- Ferencsee also · Hungarian
- FranciscRomanian
- Fränkequivalent
- Fragiskosequivalent
- Fañchequivalent
- Pasikuequivalent
- പൊറിഞ്ചുequivalent
- फ्रस्कequivalent
- പ്രാഞ്ചിequivalent
- Tchantchèsequivalent
- Françwèsequivalent
- Francilhequivalent
- Францискequivalent
- Францыскequivalent
- Fraunçouèsequivalent
- Françouaisequivalent
- Францequivalent
- Ciccuequivalent
- Froncekequivalent
- Frànzequivalent
- Franceisequivalent
- ФрэнсисRussian
- ФрансRussian
- Ffransisborrowing · Welsh
- ഫ്രാൻസിസ്borrowing · Malayalam
- Phanchicôcognate · Vietnamese
- فرنسيسcognate · Arabic
- ΦραγκίσκοςGreek
- Phanxicôcognate · Vietnamese
- FranziskusGerman
- FrantišekCzech, Slovak
- Proinsiassee also · Irish
- FranġiskMaltese
- Patxisee also · Basque
- FranciskoEsperanto
- PranciškusLithuanian
- FrantziskoBasque
- FrañsezBreton
- フランソワJapanese
- PalakikoHawaiian
- FranjoSerbo-Croatian
- NgjikuAlbanian
- ФрањоSerbo-Croatian
- FrančišekSlovene
- Italianbase name
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Francis
- Francis BaconEnglish philosopher and statesman (1561–1626)
- Frank SinatraAmerican singer and actor (1915–1998)
- F. Scott FitzgeraldAmerican writer (1896–1940)
- Francis DrakeEnglish sailor and privateer (c. 1540 – 1596)
- Francis Ford CoppolaAmerican filmmaker (born 1939)
- Francis CrickBritish molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA (1916–2004)
- Francis XavierSpanish Catholic saint and missionary (1506–1552)
- Francis William AstonBritish chemist (1877-1945)
- Francis de SalesFrench bishop, saint, writer and Doctor of the Church (1567-1622)
Characters named Francis: Punisher (Marvel Comics), Frank Underwood (House of Cards), Frank Castle (fictional vigilante antihero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Francis Urquhart (British fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Francis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Harvey
“one who is ready for battle” · “a strong man”
98% boys · 2% girls
Emil
“one who is eager; an industrious man”
>99% boys
Cecil
“one who is blind” · “the sixth-born child”
>99% boys
Virgil
“the staff-bearer”
>99% boys
Vito
“one who gives life”
>99% boys
Julius
“the child of Jove; one who is youthful”
>99% boys
Vernon
“from the alder-tree grove”
>99% boys
Clement
“merciful” · “a merciful man”
>99% boys