Frances - Meaning of Frances

What does Frances mean?

[ 2 syll. fran-ces, fr-anc-es ] The baby girl name Frances is also used as a boy name, though it is far more popular for girls. It is pronounced FRAENSahS †. Frances is of Italian origin and it is used mainly in English. The meaning of Frances is 'Frenchwoman, free one'. It is derived from the word francesco with the meaning 'frenchman'. Both Frances and Francis were originally used as unisex names; the distinction in spelling and the adoption of Frances by English speakers as the feminine equivalent of Francis started from the 17th century. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), the founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, was the first American citizen to be canonized as a saint. Frances is the feminine version of the English Francis.

What are the Variant Forms of Frances?





Frances is a widely used name; it has 85 forms that are used in English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Fan, Fanceen, Fanchette, Fanchon, Fanchone, Fancy, Fanechka, Fani, Fanni, Fannia, Fanya, Fereng, Ferika, France, Franceen, Francena, Francene, Franceska, Francess, Franchesca, Francheska, Franci (used in Hungarian as well), Francia, Francie, Francille, Francina, Francine (used in French as well), Francique, Francis, and Francys. Other English variants include the shortening Fran (used in Latin as well), and the familiar forms Fania, Fannie, Fanny (used in French as well), Franki, Frankie, Frannie, and Franny.

Forms used in foreign languages include Cella (Italian), Chica (Portuguese and Spanish), Fedora (Russian), Ferike (Hungarian), Fotina (Greek), Fraka (Polish), Franca (Czech and Italian), Francesca (Italian), Franchette (French), Francisca (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Francise (Romanian), Franciska (Hungarian and Slavic), Franciszka (Polish), Francka (Czech and Slavic), Francoise (French), Francziska (Hungarian), Françoise (French), Frangag (Scottish), Frania (Polish), Franseza (Breton), Frantziska (Basque), Franz (German), Franze (German), Franzea (Spanish), Franzi (German), Franziska (German), Fränzi (German), Paca (Spanish), Pancha (Spanish), and Panchita (Spanish).

See also the related form, the name Marie Frances.

See also the related categories, sacred (holy), english, heart, sisters, italian, saint, and american.

Frances is an all-time favorite. Today it is still rather popular as a baby girl name, but not as much as it was previously, and it is also perceived as trendy. At the height of its usage in 1918, 1.341% of baby girls were named Frances. It was #8 in rank then. The baby name has markedly dropped in popularity since then. In 2018, it ranked at #445 with a usage of 0.039%, having regained some lost ground in the recent decade. Within all girl names in its family, Frances was the most popular. Frances was used 6.906% more than the 2nd most popular name, Francesca, in 2018. Frances has in the last century been primarily given to baby girls. In 1947, 159 times more baby girls than boys were given the name Frances.

Baby names that sound like Frances include Farnaz, Fereng, Ferna, Firenze, Franca, Francah, Francee, Franceska, Francess, Francey, Franci, Francia, Francie, Francique, Francis, Francise, Francka, Francoise, Francy, and Francys.

† Pronunciation for Frances: F as in "fee (F.IY)" ; R as in "race (R.EY.S)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; S as in "see (S.IY)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)"

Details of famous persons named Frances:
Actress Judy Garland, born Frances Gumm 10 June 1922 - 22 June 1969, Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
Actress Frances McDormand, born 23 June 1957, Chicago, Illinois.
Singer Dale Evans, born Frances Octavia Smith 31 October 1912 - 7 February 2001, Uvalde, Texas.
US First Lady Frances Folsom Cleveland, born Frances Clara Folsom 21 July 1864 - 29 October 1947, Buffalo, New York.

Meaning of Frances Meaning of Frankie Meaning of Frenchy Meaning of Franzea Meaning of Ferike Meaning of Fanchone Meaning of Francine Meaning of Franci Meaning of Francis Meaning of Marie Frances
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