Francis (given name)

Francis
Gender Both
Name day October 4
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 ("the Frenchman")[1] was the name given to Saint Francis of Assisi (baptized Giovanni) by his francophile father, 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.[2]

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:

List of people with the given name Francis

Aristocracy

France

German-speaking countries

Iberian monarchies

Italy

Hungary

Scandinavia

Religious figures

Fictional characters

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chesterton, Gilbert Keith (1924). "St. Francis of Assisi" (14 ed.). Garden City, New York: Image Books. p. 158.
  2. ↑ Francis