Francis is an English, French, German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name of Latin origin.

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

Francis is a name that has many derivatives in most European languages. A feminine version of the name in English is Frances, or (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.

History

edit

The name has relatively unclear origins but is thought to mean "free". Notably, the Germanic of the Franks gave their name to France and their characteristic national weapon was the francisca, a throwing axe. Francesco ("Free man", "Frank", "Frenchman", 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, the name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages in its different versions (Francisco, François, etc.). However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century as Francis.[7]

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:

  • Arabic: فرانشيسكو (Farānshiskū), فرنسيس (Faransīs), فرانسيس (Farānsīs)
  • Aragonese: Francho
  • Armenian: Ֆրանցիսկոս (Franciskos)
  • Asturian: Xicu
  • Albanian: Françesku
  • Alemannic German: Franz, Fränzi
  • Basque: Frantzisko (male version), Frantziska or Pantxika (female version), Patxi or Pantxi (male diminutive of Frantzisko)
  • Bavarian: Franze, Franzi, Franzl
  • Belarusian: Francišak, Францішак (Frantsishak)
  • Bulgarian: Франциск (Frantsisk), Фружин (Fruzhin)
  • Breton: Franseza, Frañsez, Fañch, Fañchig, Soaig, Saig
  • Catalan: Francesc, Cesc, Cesco, Xesc, Xisco, Fran (male version); Francesca, Cisca, Xisca, Xesca, Fani, Francina (female version)
  • Chinese: 弗朗西斯 (Fúlǎngxīsī), 方濟各 (Fāngjìgè), 法蘭西斯 (Fǎlánxīsī)
  • Corsican: Francescu, Franciscu
  • Croatian: Franjo, Frano, Frane, Fran (male version); Franciska, Franka, Franca, Franjica (female version)
  • Czech: František, Františka (female version)
  • Danish: Frans
  • Dutch: Frans, Frank, Franciscus, Franciescus, Francieskus, Francis, Francies, Cies (Franciska, Francisca or Francien is used to signify the female version in the Netherlands)
  • Esperanto: Francisko
  • Estonian: Franciscus
  • Filipino: Francisco, Francis, Franco, Kiko (diminutive of Francisco)
  • Finnish: Frans, Fanni, Fransiscus, Ransu
  • French: François, Francis, Francisque (rare) (male version); Françoise, France, Francine (female version)
  • Galician: Francisco
  • German: Franziskus, Franz, Franziska (female version)
  • Greek: Fragiskos, Fragkiskos, Frangiskos, Frangkiskos, Frankiskos, (Φραγκίσκος), Frantzeskos (Φραντζέσκος), Frankiski (Φραγκίσκη), Frantzeska (Φραντζέσκα) (female version)
  • Gujarati: ફ્રાન્સિસ (Phrānsis)
  • Hawaiian: Palakiko
  • Hindi: फ्रांसिस (Phrānsis)
  • Hungarian: Ferenc, Feri, Franciska (female version)
  • Icelandic: Frans
  • Indonesian: Fransiskus, Fransiska (female version)
  • Irish: Proinsias, Proinnsias [Francie], (all variants are valid for both males & females, rare for a female to adopt this name in Irish)
  • Italian: Francesco, Franco, Fran, Ciccio, Cecco, Checco, Chicco (male version); Franca, Francesca, Cina, Cesca, Cecca (female version)
  • Japanese: フランシス (Furanshisu) (for translation of English name), フランシスコ (Furanshisuko) (for translation of Christian name)
  • Kannada: ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸಿಸ್ (Phrānsis)
  • Konkani: Frask, Forso
  • Korean: 프란시스 (Peuransiseu), 프란체스코 (Peurancheseuko)
  • Latin: Franciscus
  • Latvian: Francisks, Francis
  • Lithuanian: Pranciškus, Pranas
  • Lombard: Francesch
  • Luo (Ke/Tz): Fransisko, Pransis
  • Macedonian: Френсис (Frensis)
  • Malayalam: പൊറിഞ്ചു (Porinchu/Porinju), പ്രാഞ്ചി Pranchi, Prenju, Frenju (popular amongst the Syro Malabar Catholics of Kerala. Porinchu being more common in the North around the Thrissur ArchDiocese, while Prenju and Frenju are more common in the South in the Kuttanad region of the Changanacherry ArchDiocese)
  • Maltese: Franġisk, Frans
  • Manx: Frank
  • Neapolitan: Francesco (diminutives: Ciccio, Ciccillo)
  • Norman: Françouais
  • Norwegian: Frans, Franciskus
  • Occitan: Francés
  • Persian: فرانسیس (Frānsīs or Ferānsīs)
  • Piedmontese: Fransesch
  • Polish: Franciszek, (diminutives: Franek, Franio, Franuś) (male version), Franciszka, (diminutives: Franka, Frania) (female version)
  • Portuguese: Francisco, Francisquinho, Chico, Chiquinho, Quico, Fran, Paco (diminutives) Francisca (female version), Francisquinha, Chica, Chiquinha, Quica (diminutives)
  • Romanian: Francisc
  • Russian: Франческо (Franchesko) for Italians, Франциск (Frantsisk) for Poles, Франц (Frants) for Germans, Франсуа (Fransua) for French
  • Samogitian: Prancėškos
  • Sardinian: Franchiscu, Franciscu, Frantziscu (male version); Franchisca, Francisca, Frantzisca (female version); Tzitzeddu/Tzitzedda, Tzischeddu/Tzischedda, Ciccìttu/Ciccìtta (diminutives)
  • Scottish Gaelic: Frangag, Frances, Francis
  • Serbian: Френсис, Franja, Franc, Francisko (rare in native usage), Slobodan (local version)
  • Sicilian: Franciscu, Ciscu
  • Slovak: František
  • Slovene: Frančišek, Franček, France, Franci, Franc, Fran, Franko
  • Spanish: Francisco, Paco, Paquito, Curro, Fran, Quico, Pancho, Cisco, Chisco, Francisca (female version), Paca (female version), Paqui or Paquita (female version)
  • Swahili: Fransisko
  • Swedish: Franciskus, Frans
  • Tamil: பிரான்சிஸ் (Pirāṉcis)
  • Telugu: ఫ్రాన్సిస్ (Phrānsis)
  • Thai: ฟรานซิส (Frānsis̄)
  • Turkish: Fransız, Fransuva
  • Ukrainian: Франциск (Frantsysk), Франциска (Frantsyska, female version)
  • Venetian: Francesco (Francesca, female version), Fransisco (Fransisca, female version), Francisco (Francisca, female version)
  • Vietnamese: Phanxicô
  • Welsh: Fransis (or Fransys)
  • West Frisian: Fransiskus
  • Yiddish: פראַנסיס (Fransis)

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.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 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 (14th ed.). Garden City, New York: Image Books. p. 158.
  6. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Francis" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 933.
  7. ^ Francis