Francis (given name)

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Francis
Jan Claudius de Cock - St. Francis receives the stigmata.jpg
St. Francis receives the stigmata by Jan Claudius de Cock
Pronunciation/ˈfrɑːnsɪs, ˈfræn-/[1][2]
GenderUnisex
Language(s)French, Haitian Creole, Latin
Name dayOctober 4
Origin
Word/nameLatin
MeaningFree man[3]
Other names
Related namesFranciscus, Francisco, Francesco, François, Franz, Franciszek, Francesc, Ferenc, Franco, Frans, Frank, Franklin, Frankie, Franky, Fritz

Francis is an English given name of Latin origin.

Francis is a name that has many derivatives in most European languages. The other version of the name in English is Frances, and (less commonly) Francine.[4] (For most speakers, Francis and Frances are homophones or near homophones; a popular mnemonic for the spelling is "i for him and e for her".) The name Frank is a common diminutive for Francis, as is Frannie for Frances. Less common are the diminutives Fritz for Francis, and Franny and Fran for either Francis or Frances.

Derivation[edit]

Francesco ("Frank", "Frenchman", "Free man" in medieval Italian)[5] was the name given to Saint Francis of Assisi (born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone) by his francophile father, whose wife the mother of Francesco was French,[6] celebrating his trade with French merchants. Due to the renown of the saint, this Italian name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages in different versions (Francisco, François, etc.). However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century as Francis.[7]

The name of France itself comes from the Germanic people known as the Franks; the origin of their name is unclear but is thought to mean "free". The characteristic national weapon of the Franks was the francisca, a throwing axe.

Related names in other languages[edit]

Related names are common in other Western European languages, in countries that are (or were before the Reformation) Catholic. Other non-European languages have also adopted variants of the name. These names include:

List of people with the given name Francis[edit]

Aristocracy[edit]

France[edit]

German-speaking countries[edit]

Iberian monarchies[edit]

Italy[edit]

Hungary[edit]

Scandinavia[edit]

Religious figures[edit]

Fictional characters[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Francis". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  2. ^ "Francis". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17.
  3. ^ Navarro, Yvonne (2007). First Name Reverse Dictionary: Given Names Listed by Meaning, 2d ed. McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers. pp. 110–112. ISBN 9780786429349.
  4. ^ "Baby Name Statistics". Baby Names – England and Wales, ONS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  5. ^ Chesterton, Gilbert Keith (1924). "St. Francis of Assisi" (14 ed.). Garden City, New York: Image Books: 158. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Francis" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 933.
  7. ^ Francis
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