Francis (given name)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Francis
Gender	Both
Origin
Word/Name	Latin
Meaning	French
Other names
Related names	Franciscus, Francisco, Frank

Look up Francis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Francis is a French and English given name of Latin origin.

Francis is a name that has many derivatives in most European languages. The female version of the name in English is Frances, and (less commonly) Francine. (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 and Fanny for Frances. In Spanish, the form Fran is mostly used for boys and men, while Franci is more common for girls and women.

Derivation

Francesco was the name given to Saint Francis of Assisi (baptized Giovanni) by his francophile father, celebrating his trade with French merchants, though possibly in memory of the boy's mother, a Frenchwoman, who died when the boy was still in his early years.^{[citation needed]} It means 'Frenchman'. 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

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 (Frānsheskū)
Aragonese: Francho
Armenian: Ֆրանծիսկոս (Franciskos)
Asturian: Xicu
Albanian: Françesku
Alemannic German: Franz
Basque: Frantzisko, Patxi
Bulgarian: Франциск (Frantsisk)
Belarusian: Francišak, Францішак (Frantsishak)
Breton: 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), 方济各 (Fāngjìgè), 法蘭西斯 (Fǎlánxīsī)
Corsican: Francescu
Croatian: Franjo, Frano, Frane, Fran (male version); Franciska, Franka, Franca, Franjica (female version)
Czech: František, Františka (female version)
Dutch: Frans, Frank, Franciscus, Francis (Franciska or Francien is used to signify the female version in Holland)
English: Francis, Frank, Frances (female version)
Esperanto: Francisko
Estonian: Franciscus
Finnish: Frans, Fransiscus
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)
Hungarian: Ferenc, Feri, Franciska (female version)
Icelandic: Frans
Indonesian: Fransiskus
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, Cino, Cisco, Cecco (male version); Franca, Francesca, Ciccia, Cina, Cesca, Cecca (female version)
Japanese: フランシス (Furanshisu)
Korean: 프랜시스 (Peuraensiseu), 프랑수아(Peurangsua)
Latin: Franciscus
Latvian: Francisks
Lithuanian: Francas, Pranciškus (historical)
Lombard: Francesch
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
Neapolitan: Franciscu
Norman: Françouais
Norwegian: Frans, Franciskus
Occitan: Francés
Piedmontese: Fransesch
Polish: Franciszek
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 popes, Франц (Frants) for Germans.
Samogitian: Prancėškos
Scottish Gaelic: Frangag
Serbian: Franja, Franc, Francisko (rare in native usage)
Sicilian: Franciscu, Ciscu
Slovak: František
Slovene: Frančišek, Franček, France, Franci, Franc, Fran, Franko
Spanish: Francisco, Paco, Fran, Quico, Pancho, Cisco, Chisco, Francisca (female version), Paca (female version), Paquita (female version)
Swahili: Fransisko
Swedish: Franciskus
Turkish: Fransız, Fransuva
Venetian: Francesco
Vietnamese: Phanxicô
Welsh: Ffransis
West Frisian: Fransiskus
Ukrainian: Франциск (Frantsisk)

List of people with the given name Francis

Francis Bacon (1561–1626), English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method
Francis E. Donoghue (1872–1952), member of Illinois State House of Representatives
Francis Drake English sea captain
Francis Dugas (1919-2008), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Francis B. Foley (1887-1973), American ferrous metallurgist
Francis Fukuyama, (born 1952), American political scientist
Francis Irving, British computer programmer and activist for freedom of information
Francis Maude, politician
Francis Ford Coppola, (born 1939), American film-director, producer, and screenwriter
Frankie Valli, born Francis Castelluccio, lead singer of The Four Seasons"
Francis Scott Key, (1779-1843), Writer of the American National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Fitzgerald, (1896-1940), American Novelist and short story writer

Fictional characters

Francis (Malcolm in the Middle), a character from American TV comedy Malcolm in the Middle played by Christopher Masterson
Francis, a minor character from South Park
Francis the Talking Mule, a mule celebrity, featured in seven movie comedies in the 1950s
Francis Griffin, a fictional character from animated TV comedy Family Guy, voiced by Charles Durning
Francis Ray Ottoman, a character from the webcomic PvP
Francis, a fictional character in the game Left 4 Dead
Francis, the lead character from Felidae (novel)
Francis, a character from Disney and Pixar's film, A Bug's Life
Francis Bonnefoy, the human name of France in the webcomic Hetalia: Axis Powers
Major Francis Monogram of Phineas and Ferb
Francis Abernathy, from the novel The Secret History

Monarchs

France

Francis I King of France (1494–1547)
Francis II King of France (1544–1560)
Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450)
Francis II, Duke of Brittany (1433–1488)
Francis I, Duke of Lorraine (1517–1545)
Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (1572–1632)
Francis III, Duke of Lorraine, the same as Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (below)

German speaking countries

Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (1708–1765)
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, the same as Francis I, Emperor of Austria (1768–1835)
Franz, Duke of Bavaria (born 1933), called "Francis II" by Jacobite supporters

Iberian monarchies

Francis, Infante of Portugal (1691–1742), 7th Duke of Beja, 2nd son of King Peter II of Portugal
Francis Joseph of Braganza (1878-1919), Infante of Portugal, 2nd son of Miguel II, legitimist claimant to the throne of Portugal
Francis of Spain (1822-1902), Duke of Cádiz, King Consort of Queen Isabella II

Italy

Francis I of the Two Sicilies (1777–1830)
Francis II of the Two Sicilies (1836–1894)
Francis I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1541–1587)
Francis I, Duke of Modena (1629–1658)
Francis II, Duke of Modena (1662–1694)
Francis III, Duke of Modena (1737–1780)
Francis IV, Duke of Modena (1779–1846)
Francis V, Duke of Modena (1819–1875)

Hungary

Francis I Rákóczi, Prince of Transylvania (1645–1676)
Francis II Rákóczi, Duke of Hungary and Prince Transylvania (1676–1735)