Also used in Romania (you'll find bearers on social media).
― Anonymous User 7/31/2020
1
This name has been used heavily in Italy for many decades being particularly popular in the 80s and 90s. It has now fallen a bit out of fashion and has left the top 10 in more recent years.
― Anonymous User 2/16/2017
2
My name is Francesca, I have always gone by my nickname until adulthood when going to college, then in my career. Individuals could not pronounce my nickname Cesi (sessy).
Francesca is also a fairly common name in the UK. According to one of my name books (Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names by K. M. Sheard) Francesca was originally introduced to the UK by the 1945 British film The Seventh Veil, in which the heroine is called Francesca Cunningham. It's usually pronounced fran-CHES-kə here, which is an approximation of how it is said in Italian.