Francis
Top 1000
About Francis
Since this was the name chosen by the late Roman Catholic pope in 2013, Francis has come into the spotlight.
The name, which was in the Top 10 at the turn of the last century, has been pretty much confined to Irish and Italian Catholics -- think F. (Francis) Scott Fitzgerald, Francis Albert Sinatra, Francis Ford Coppola -- for decades, and still has a somewhat starchy feel. But with its similarity to the increasingly popular female Frances, and its recent newsworthiness, we can see it making a possible comeback beyond those worlds. And in fact, the name has risen a bit in the charts since its all-time low of 680 in 2009.
Animal-loving parents might be inspired by the connection to Saint Francis of Assisi (born Giovanni), who was said to be able to communicate with animals and was made the patron saint of ecology. Another Francis, Saint Francis de Sales, is the patron saint of writers and editors.
Pronounced FRAN-sis.
As of October 2026, Francis ranked #420 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #29 in 1915, Nameberry popularity #215.
Editor's take: The name Francis is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "Frenchman or free man".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #480 | 593 | 308.7 |
| 2015 | #481 | 622 | 324.5 |
| 2016 | #482 | 638 | 336.2 |
| 2017 | #458 | 661 | 357.1 |
| 2018 | #480 | 610 | 335.9 |
| 2019 | #484 | 605 | 337.2 |
| 2020 | #482 | 616 | 356.9 |
| 2021 | #467 | 637 | 364.1 |
| 2022 | #461 | 664 | 380.3 |
| 2023 | #456 | 675 | 394.6 |
| 2024 | #450 | 693 | 402.2 |
| 2025 | #420 | 769 | 450.2 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Francis.
- Albert
- Eugene
- Edgar
- Alfred
- Frederick
- Leonard
- Lawrence
- Abraham
- Benedict
- Edwin
- Philip
- Walter
- Edmund
- Ralph
- Ernest
- Victor
- Rupert
- Bernard
- Clarence
- Gilbert
Francis on lists
Famous Franciss
- Francis I and II
Kings of France
- Francis I (Francis Stephen) and Francis II
Holy Roman Emperors
- Francis I (Francesco Gennaro Giuseppe) and Francis II (Francesco d'Assisi Maria Leopoldo)
Kings of the Two Sicilies
- Francis Xavier
Spanish cofounder of the Society of Jesus
- Francis Rous (1579
1658), Puritan, hymnist
- Francis de Sales
Bishop of Geneva
- Francis Nash
American Revolutionary general
- Francis Scott Key
American poet; writer of the U.S. National Anthem
- Francis Minden Knollis (1815
1863), hymnist
- Francis Sheehy
Skeffington, Irish writer, activist and pacifist
- Francis Taylor
American art dealer; father of Elizabeth Taylor
- Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra
American pop singer and actor
- Francis Crozier
Anglo,Irish officer of the Royal Navy, polar explorer, and researcher
- Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio)
current Pope
- Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
American novelist
- Francis Bacon
1st Viscount St Alban, English philosopher and statesman
- Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc
French composer
- Francis Harry Compton Crick
English scientist who discovered DNA structure
- Francis Ford Coppola
American film director
- Francis Fukuyama
American political scientist
- Francis "Hill" Harper
American actor
- (Francis) Jameson Parker Jr.
American actor
- Francis Bouillon
American hockey player
- Francis Galton
English polymath
- Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean
American musician
- Francis William Aston
English chemist; winner of the Nobel Prize
- Francis Peyton Rous
American virologist; winner of the Nobel Prize
- Francis "Coyote" Shivers
Canadian musician/actor
- Francis Jonathan (b. 2009)
son of actress Ashley Jensen
Francis in pop culture
- Francis Abernathy
character in Donna Tartt's "The Secret History"
- Francis Bonnefoy
personification of France in "Axis Powers: Hetalia"
- Francis Dolarhyde
character in book/movie "Red Dragon"
- Francis
Malcolm's oldest brother on TV's "Malcolm in the Middle"
- Francis Gage
character on TV's "Walker, Texas Ranger"
- Francis
Prince of France on TV's "Reign"
- Francis "Frank" Underwood
character on TV's "House of Cards"
- Francis the Talking Mule
character in several films
- Francis Griffin
Peter's dad on TV's "Family Guy"
- Francis Ray Ottoman
character in webcomic PvP
- Francis
character in video game "Left 4 Dead"
- Francis
character in movie "Spy Kids 3,D: Game Over"
- Francis
main cat character in "Felidae" by Akif Pirinçci
- Francis
ladybug character Pixar's "A Bug's Life"
- Francis Freeman
character in movie "Deadpool"
- Francis "Frank" Delfino
character in "How to Get Away with Murder"
- Francis "Frank" Moses
character in "RED"
- Francis Farewell Starlite
musician and producer of "Francis and the Lights"
- Francis de Saint
Germain, immortal character in Michael Scott's "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel"
Variations & nicknames
- PaquitoSpanish
- PanchitoSpanish
- FranciszkSlavic
- FerkeHungarian
- QuitoSpanish
- FarrucoSpanish
- CurroSpanish
- FrançoisFrench
- PanchoSpanish
- ChitoSpanish
- FerencHungarian
- FrantzDanish
- ProinsiasIrish
- FranzGerman
- FrancSlavic
- FranciscusDutch
- FrancescoItalian
- FransenScandinavian
- CuritoSpanish
- FrancoItalian
- ChicoSpanish
- FranioPolish
- ChiloSpanish
- FranusPolish
- ChichoSpanish
- FrascoSpanish
- FranciloSpanish
- FranzlGerman
- FerkoHungarian
- FrankenGerman
- FranchotFrench
- FransScandinavian
- PacoSpanish
- FranciscoSpanish
- CiscoSpanish
- FranzenGerman
- PacorraSpanish
- FrascueloSpanish