Frances

Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis.

Notable people and characters with the name include:

People

• Frances, Countess of Périgord (died 1481)
• Frances (musician) (born 1993), British singer and songwriter
• Frances Estill Beauchamp (1860-1923), American temperance activist, social reformer, lecturer
• Frances Burke, Countess of Clanricarde (1567–1633), English noblewoman and Irish countess
• Frances E. Burns (1866-1937), American social leader and business executive
• Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset (1590–1632), central figure in a famous scandal and murder
• Frances Lewis Brackett Damon (1857–1939), American poet, writer
• Frances Davidson, Viscountess Davidson (1894–1985), British politician and Member of Parliament
• Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (1517–1559), granddaughter of Henry VII of England and mother of Queen Jane Grey
• Frances Haugen, American data engineer and scientist, product manager, and whistleblower
• Frances Hyde, Countess of Clarendon (c. 1617–1667), mother-in-law of King James II of England and maternal grandmother of Mary II and Queen Anne
• Frances Newton, Lady Cobham (1539–1592), one of the closest friends of Queen Elizabeth I of England
• Frances Radclyffe, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I
• Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (1599–1674), English noblewoman
• Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond, as known as 'La Belle Stuart', the face of Britannia
• Frances Talbot, Countess of Tyrconnell (c. 1647–1730), English courtier and Irish countess
• Frances Vane, Viscountess Vane (1715–1788), British memoirist known for her highly public adulterous relationships
• Frances Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave (1821–1879), a leader and hostess of society
• Frances Atkins, British chef
• Frances Barkman (1885–1946), Russian-born Australian schoolteacher and Jewish community worker
• Frances Catherine Barnard (1796–1869), English author
• Frances Elizabeth Barrow (1822–1894), American children's writer
• Frances Black (born 1960), Irish singer
• Frances Manwaring Caulkins (1795–1869), American historian, genealogist, author
• Frances Bean Cobain (born 1992), American artist, daughter of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and singer Courtney Love
• Frances Augusta Hemingway Conant (1842–1903), American journalist, editor, businesswoman
• Frances Conroy, American actress
• Frances Cornford (1886–1960), English poet
• Frances Dickinson (1856–1945), American physician, clubwoman
• Frances Dodge (1914–1971), American internationally known horsewoman
• Frances Scott Fitzgerald (1921–1986), American journalist
• Frances Burney (1752–1840), English novelist, diarist and playwright
• Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924), English playwright and author
• Frances Farmer, American actress
• Frances Fisher, American actress
• Frances FitzGerald (journalist) (born 1940), American journalist and author
• Frances Fitzgerald (politician) (born 1950), Irish Fine Gael politician
• Frances Forbes-Robertson (1866–1956), British novelist
• Frances X. Frei, American academic and businesswoman
• Frances Elizabeth Fryatt, American author, editor, specialist in household applied arts
• Frances Nimmo Greene (1867-1937), American educator and author
• Frances Irene Burge Griswold (1826–1900), American poet, author
• Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879), English hymnwriter, religious poet
• Frances C. Jenkins (1826-1915), American evangelist, Quaker minister, and social reformer
• Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864–1952), American photographer and photojournalist
• Frances Môn Jones (1919–2000), Welsh harpist and teacher
• Frances Kirwan (born 1959), British mathematician
• Frances Latham (1610–1677), colonial woman in Rhode Island known as "the Mother of Governors" for having 10 governors among her direct descendants
• Frances Lupton (1821–1892), English reformer for female education
• Frances MacDonald (1873–1921), Scottish artist
• Frances Harrison Marr (1835–1918), American poet
• Frances McDormand (born 1957), American actress
• Frances McKee (born 1966), Scottish musician, guitarist for Scottish indie band The Vaselines
• Frances Gertrude McGill (1882–1959), pioneering Canadian forensic pathologist and criminologist
• Frances Laughton Mace (1836–1899), American poet
• Frances Margaret Milne (1846–?), Irish-born American writer and librarian
• Frances Nelson (1761–1831), wife of Admiral Horatio Nelson
• Frances Osborne (born 1969), British author
• Frances Perkins (1880–1965), the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position, and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet
• Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston (1864–1937), wife of US President Grover Cleveland
• Frances Quinlan, American musician
• Frances of Rome (1384–1440), Italian saint, mystic, organizer of charitable services and Benedictine oblate who founded a religious community of oblates
• Frances Rutherford (1912–2006), New Zealand artist and occupational therapist
• Frances Schreuder (1938–2004), American murderer in the Franklin Bradshaw murder.
• Frances Alice Shepherd, Canadian academic
• Frances Lee Strong or Grandma Lee (1934–2020), American comedian
• Frances T. Sullivan, New York State assemblywoman 1991–2002
• Frances Shand Kydd (1936–2004), British viscountess, mother of Diana, Princess of Wales
• Frances Sweeney (1908–1944), American journalist and anti-fascist activist
• Francie Swift, born Frances Swift, American actress
• Frances Tiafoe, (male) American tennis player
• Frances Christine Fisher Tiernan (1846–1920), American novelist and author under the pen name Christian Reid
• Frances Trollope (1779–1863), English novelist and writer, mother of novelist and writer Anthony Trollope
• Frances Eleanor Trollope (1835–1913), sister of Ellen Ternan (Charles Dickens' mistress) and sister-in-law of Anthony Trollope
• Frances Willard (1839–1898), American educator, temperance reformer and women's suffragist
• Frances Yip, Hong Kong singer
• Frances (Fanny) Brawne (1800–1865), fiancée of Romantic poet John Keats
• Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917), Italian-American Roman Catholic nun and saint

Fictional characters

• Frances, the title character in the children's book series by Russell Hoban
• Frances Earnshaw, from the novel Wuthering Heights
• Frances "Baby" Houseman (portrayed by Jennifer Grey), from the movie Dirty Dancing
• Frances, in the anime Sonic X
• Frances "Franny" Glass, from Franny and Zooey
• Mary Frances "Francie" Nolan, from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• Frances Stevens, played by Grace Kelly in Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief
• Frances Ha, the title character, played by Greta Gerwig, in the 2012 American black and white comedy-drama film, Frances Ha
• Frances "Frankie" Heck, played by Patricia Heaton on the ABC sitcom The Middle
• Frances the Firefly, the protagonist in a fire safety public information film

See also

• Francie
• Frannie