Name of the Week

^.


Saintly Francis is solid and respectable but
uncommon enough today to make it a bit daring.

 

Origin:

Francis derives from the Old French Franceis, which came from the Latin Franciscus, a term which originally meant "Frankish, of the Franks" but later came to mean "a Frenchman." Frank - the name of the tribe - almost certainly derives from the old Germanic word *frankon "javelin, lance," and was later used to mean 'free, generous, sincere, forthright'. From this came the Old Germanic given name Franco "a Frank" which was in use from the early Middle Ages. Francis itself was orginally used as a byname, or nickname, as the adjective Franceis "Frenchman," and swiftly became a surname. It only really came into use as a given name, however, until the hugely popular cult of St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) spread across Europe. Born while his father (a wealthy merchant) was away on business in France, his mother had baptised him with the name Giovanni. On his return however, his father preferred to call him Francesco "Frenchman," either because of his travels and admiration for France, and possibly because his wife was from Provence.

Usage:

Use of the surname Franceis "Frenchman" in Britain dates from at least the 12th century. A few examples of its use as a given name, such as Francais de Irtona from Whitby c.1230, can be found from the 13th century. Despite St Francis being canonised two years after his death in 1228, the name Francis wasn't especially common at first. In Redmond's poll of top 50 names from 10 counties in 1377-81, for example, Francis does not rank at all. However, by the end of the 14th century, Francis really began to take off. This was perhaps because the cult of the saint had spread further by this point thanks to the Franciscan Order, but also its use by royalty in Europe. The first King of France, Francis I, succeeded his cousin Louis' throne in 1515 and became a staple among French aristocracy thereafter. His grandson, Francis II, also became King Consort of Scotland as a result of his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1558. This coincided with the canonising of several other saints named Francis in the 16th and 17th century. In my poll of the most popular Elizabethan names of Norfolk, Francis ranks #14 overall. This corresponds nicely to Smith Bannister rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 which shows how consistently popular the name was for nearly two centuries:  1538-49: #16; 1550-9: #14; 1560-9: #13; 1570-9: #10; 1580-9: #12; 1590-9: #11; 1600-9: #10; 1610-9: #11; 1620-9: #10; 1630-9: #12; 1640-9: #12; 1650-9: #13; 1660-9: #13; 1670-9: #13; 1680-9: #12; 1690-1700: #12. By the turn of the 19th century, Francis was still in good and steady use, declining only slightly by the end of the century. It ranked #24 in 1870, #24 in 1880, #26 in 1890 and #28 in 1900. Though Frank was originally a distinct name, by the 19th century both Frank and Frankie had become regarded as a diminutive of Francis. Other occasional nicknames in use included Fay and Fran, though these were more often reserved for the feminine form Frances.  During the 20th century in England and Wales, Francis started from it's Victorian high-point of #28 in 1904 and held its ground in the top 50 through the 1930s. Gradually it declined, falling out of the Top 100 after 1964 when it ranked #82. The name was more popular in Scotland, ranking #19 in 1900, #27 in 1950 and #66 in 1975.  In Northern Ireland however, Francis was still #100 as late as 1997.  Since 1996 in England and Wales, Francis has had very steady use, with a birth count of between 150 and 190 births per year. In 1996, it ranked #188 with 172 birth had only fluctauted slightly after that point.  In 2013, Francis had its highest birth count in England and Wales of the last few decades of 210, giving it a rank of #241. In Scotland, it ranked #247 (17 births) and was #208 (10 births) in Northern Ireland.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Francis I (1414–1450), Duke of Brittany. * Francis II (1433–1488), Duke of Brittany. * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France. * Francis of Denmark (1497-1511), Prince of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. * Francis I (1517–1545), Duke of Lorraine. * Francis III (1518–1536), Duke of Brittany. * Francis II (1544–1560) King of France and King Consort of Scotland. * Francis I (1541–1587), Grand Duke of Tuscany. * Francis I (1629–1658), Duke of Modena. * Francis I Rákóczi (1645–1676), Prince of Transylvania. * Francis II (1662–1694), Duke of Modena. * Francis II Rákóczi (1676–1735), Prince of Transylvania. * Francis I (1708–1765), Holy Roman Emperor. * Francis III (1737–1780), Duke of Modena. * Francis II (1768–1835), Holy Roman Emperor, also Francis I, Emperor of Austria. * Francis of Spain (1822–1902), Duke of Cádiz, King Consort of Queen Isabella II. History: * St. Francis of Assisi (1181/1182–1226), Italian Catholic friar and saint. * St Francis of Paola (1416–1507), Italian (Calabrian) founder of the Order of the Minims. * St Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Spanish Catholic friar and saint. * St Francis Borgia (1510–1572), Spanish Jesuit priest; third leader of the Jesuits. * Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1596), , an English sea captain, privateer and navigator. * St Francis Solanus (1549–1610), Spanish Franciscan missionary to South America. * Francis Bacon (1561–1626), English philosopher, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. * St Francis Caracciolo (1563–1608), Italian priest who co-founded the Congregation of the Minor Clerics Regular. * St Francis de Sales (1567–1622), French Catholic bishop and saint. * St Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (1607–1648), Castilian Dominican missionary; first Roman Catholic martyr killed in China. * St Francis de Geronimo (1642–1716), Italian Jesuit priest. * Francis Fontaine (1845-1901), American poet and novelist. * Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), American Novelist and short story writer. Contemporary: * Pope Francis (b. 1936), the current titular leader of the Roman Catholic Church. * Francis Ford Coppola (b. 1939), American film-director, producer, and screenwriter. Literature and Other Media: * Francis, a character from TV comedy Malcolm in the Middle played by Christopher Masterson. * Francis, a character from Disney and Pixar's film, A Bug's Life.

Variants:

Frantzisko, Patxi (Basque), Frane, Franjo, Franko, Frano, Fran (Croatian), František (Czech), Frans (Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish), Franz, Fränze, Franzi (German), Ferenc (Hungarian), Proinsias (Irish), Francesco, Franco (Italian), Frens, Frenske (Limburgish), Pranciškus (Lithuanian), Franciszek (Polish), Francisco, Chico (Portuguese), Frang (Scottish), Franjo (Serbian), Franc, Frančišek,(Slovene), Francisco, Curro, Paco, Pancho, Paquito (Spanish), Ffransis (Welsh)

Pronunciation:

FRAN-səs [key]

Possible diminutives:

Frank, Frankie, Franz, Fritz, Fin

Sibling Names:

Clara     Agnes     Josephine     Edith     Roberta     Maria   Ralph     Lionel     Stephen     Philip     Jonathan     Richard

Name Lists:

Terrifically Tudor   Gorgeously Georgian   Victorian Darlings   Royal Names of Europe   Dickensian Names

 

If you like Francis you may also like:   Patrick, Franklin, Peter, Benedict, Wilfred, Robin, Martin, Alistair, Timothy, Simon

 

Thanks to Aure, Lucie and Kaia for requesting this post.