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 [ 2 syll. fran-cis, fr-anc-is ] The boy name Francis is sometimes used as a girl name. Its pronunciation is FRAENSahS KEY. Francis is used predominantly in the English language and it is derived from Italian origins. The name's meaning is Frenchman, free one. Derived from the element 'francesco' which means frenchman. Francis (Old French) and Franciscus (Latin) are original forms of Francis. The name owes its popularity to the Italian saint, Francesco or Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). He was baptized Giovanni di Bernardone in honor of John the Baptist, but was renamed Francesco by his father Pietro, who did not want his son to be a man of the Church. His father chose this name in tribute to his business in France as well as his son's enthusiasm for all things French, as Francesco means 'the little Frenchman'. Francesco later renounced his father's wealth and went on to found the Franciscan order of friars. Due to his fame, the name became used in various forms throughout medieval Europe. It was adopted by English speakers in the early 16th century amidst an enthusiasm for Italian Renaissance culture. Another saint bearing the name was Francis Xavier (1506-1552), the co-founder of the Society of Jesus. The name Frances (English) is the female version of Francis. The name Francis is widely used; it has 60 variants that are used in both English and other languages. A variant of Francis used in English is Franky. Other English variants include the short forms Fran (used in Albanian and as well), France, and Frank, and the pet forms Cesco, Francie, Frankie, and Franny. Foreign variants of Francis include Chicho (Spanish), Chilo (Spanish), Chito (Spanish), Cisco (Spanish), Currito (Spanish), Farruco (Spanish), Ferenc (Hungarian), Ffransis (Welsh), Frana (Czech), Franc (Slavic and French), Francesco (Italian), Franchot (French), Francisco (Portuguese and Spanish), Franciscus (German and Latinized), Francisek (Slavic), Francisque (French), Franciszek (Polish), Franciszk (Polish), Franco (Italian and Spanish), François (French), Frang (Scottish), Franio (Polish), Franjo (Slavic), Frans (Dutch, Finnish, and Scandinavian), Frantisek (Czech), Frants (Scandinavian), Frantz (Slavic), Frantzisko (Basque), Franus (Polish), Franz (German), Franzen (Scandinavian), Franziskus (German and Latinized), Franzl (German), Frasco (Spanish), Pacorro (Spanish), Palani (Hawaiian), Panchito (Spanish), Pranciskus (Lithuanian), Proinnsias (Irish), Proinsias (Irish), Quico (Spanish), and Ransu (Finnish). Specific foreign variants include the pet forms Chico (Portuguese and Spanish), Curro (Spanish), Francesc (Catalan), Frangan (Scottish), Frascuelo (Spanish), Frasquito (Spanish), Paco (Spanish), Pancho (Spanish), Paquito (Spanish), and Patxi (Basque). Francis is a classic favorite. Today it is still a fairly popular baby name for boys, though to a lesser extent than it was in the past. Its usage peaked in 1915 with 0.635% of baby boys being given the name Francis. It ranked at #29 then. The baby name has since steeply declined in popularity, and is currently of occasional use. In 2008, its usage was only 0.017% and its ranking #656, but it was nonetheless the 3rd most popular after Francisco (Portuguese and Spanish) and Frank (English and German), among all boy names in its group. In 2008, it was used 6 times more than Francis. In the past century Francis has mostly been a boy name. In 1987, the name Francis was given to 5 times as many boys than girls. Baby names that sound like Francis include Ferenc (Hungarian), Ffransis (Welsh), Francesc (Catalan), Francie (English), Francisque (French), Franciszk (Polish), Franco (Italian and Spanish), François (French), Franek (Polish), Franjo (Slavic), Franki (English), Frankie (English), Franko (German), Franky (English), Franus (Polish), Franzl (German), Frenchy (English), Formosus (English), Franc (Slavic and French), and France (English). Details of famous persons named Francis: KEY: Pronunciation for Francis: F as in "fee (F.IY)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)"   |
