Francis

Francis: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“Frenchman; free man”
Origin
Latin
Say it
FRAN-sis · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys (91% of all uses)

From the Late Latin name Franciscus, originally meaning 'Frenchman' or 'Frank.' Francis is the usual English form; Frances is the traditional feminine English spelling.

How popular is Francis?

2024236 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Francis in 2024785

2024 rank#450 boys

Peak year1915

Total US babies since 1880319,430

Francis is rising: use over the last five years is 1.6× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Francis

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • FranciscoFrenchman, free man · Spanish
  • Francesfrom France; free one · Latin
  • FrankFrenchman; free man · Germanic
  • Lucasfrom Lucania · Latin
  • Leolion · Latin
  • Julianyouthful, downy-bearded · Latin
  • Anthonyof the Antonius family · Latin
  • RomanRoman, from Rome · Latin

Francis questions

What does the name Francis mean?

Francis means "Frenchman; free man". It comes from Latin. From the Late Latin name Franciscus, originally meaning 'Frenchman' or 'Frank.' Francis is the usual English form; Frances is the traditional feminine English spelling.

Is Francis a boy or girl name?

Francis is mainly a boy's name in US records (91% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Francis?

785 US babies were named Francis in 2024. Its peak year was 1915.

How do you pronounce Francis?

Francis is usually pronounced FRAN-sis.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.