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
The name has 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
francophilefather, 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]
Related names in other languages
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:
Dutch:
Frans, Frank, Franciscus, Franciescus, Francieskus, Francis, Francies, Cies (Franciska, Francisca or Francien is used to signify the female version in the Netherlands)
Malayalam: പൊറിഞ്ചു (Porinchu/Porinju), പ്രാഞ്ചിPranchi, 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)
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
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
The name has 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
francophilefather, 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]
Related names in other languages
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:
Dutch:
Frans, Frank, Franciscus, Franciescus, Francieskus, Francis, Francies, Cies (Franciska, Francisca or Francien is used to signify the female version in the Netherlands)
Malayalam: പൊറിഞ്ചു (Porinchu/Porinju), പ്രാഞ്ചിPranchi, 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)
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.