Comments (Usage Only)
In the very last sentence of this entry, it is basically implied that it is only in the English-speaking world that Francis is used for girls:
"In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls." [noted -ed]
This is actually not the case! In the Dutch-speaking world, Francis is unisex, but much more commonly encountered on women than on men. In the Netherlands, that is - in Belgium, the name is more commonly seen on men than on women. The available statistics for the Netherlands kind of match my personal experience as well: I (a Dutchwoman) have never met a male Francis in my life, but I did have a female classmate named Francis when I was in secondary school back in the early 2000s.
For Dutch women, the name started out as a short form of Francisca, whilst for Dutch men, Francis began as a short form of Franciscus. It was what people went by in daily life because the name on their birth certificate (in this case Francisca or Franciscus) was too cumbersome or formal, which is typical for Dutch naming culture. The name Francis has since become used as an independent name on its own, so a male or female Francis in Belgium and the Netherlands today will no longer automatically have Franciscus or Francisca on their birth certificate.
The best known female Dutch bearer is probably the former professional darts player Francis Hoenselaar (b. 1965), whose birth name is of course Francisca:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Hoenselaar (in English)
For more information, please see:
- https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_(voornaam) (in Dutch; use DeepL Translator or Google Translate if necessary)
- prevalence of Francis on birth certificates in the Netherlands in 2014 (of all ages): http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Francis (in Dutch)
- prevalence of Francis on birth certificates in Belgium in 2009 (of all ages):
• boys/men: http://www.names.be/jongensnamen.html?met=Francis&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
• girls/women: http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Francis&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
- (general): https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/?first=Francis&last=&search=Zoeken
• https://be.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Francis/+/be-0-Belgi%C3%AB (lists only bearers living in Belgium)
• https://nl.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Francis/+/nl-0-Nederland (lists only bearers living in the Netherlands)
- Belgium: https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3AFrancis%20%2Brecord_country%3ABelgium
- Netherlands: https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3AFrancis%20%2Brecord_country%3ANetherlands
6
"In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls." [noted -ed]
This is actually not the case! In the Dutch-speaking world, Francis is unisex, but much more commonly encountered on women than on men. In the Netherlands, that is - in Belgium, the name is more commonly seen on men than on women. The available statistics for the Netherlands kind of match my personal experience as well: I (a Dutchwoman) have never met a male Francis in my life, but I did have a female classmate named Francis when I was in secondary school back in the early 2000s.
For Dutch women, the name started out as a short form of Francisca, whilst for Dutch men, Francis began as a short form of Franciscus. It was what people went by in daily life because the name on their birth certificate (in this case Francisca or Franciscus) was too cumbersome or formal, which is typical for Dutch naming culture. The name Francis has since become used as an independent name on its own, so a male or female Francis in Belgium and the Netherlands today will no longer automatically have Franciscus or Francisca on their birth certificate.
The best known female Dutch bearer is probably the former professional darts player Francis Hoenselaar (b. 1965), whose birth name is of course Francisca:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Hoenselaar (in English)
For more information, please see:
- https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_(voornaam) (in Dutch; use DeepL Translator or Google Translate if necessary)
- prevalence of Francis on birth certificates in the Netherlands in 2014 (of all ages): http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Francis (in Dutch)
- prevalence of Francis on birth certificates in Belgium in 2009 (of all ages):
• boys/men: http://www.names.be/jongensnamen.html?met=Francis&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
• girls/women: http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Francis&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
- (general): https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/?first=Francis&last=&search=Zoeken
• https://be.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Francis/+/be-0-Belgi%C3%AB (lists only bearers living in Belgium)
• https://nl.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Francis/+/nl-0-Nederland (lists only bearers living in the Netherlands)
- Belgium: https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3AFrancis%20%2Brecord_country%3ABelgium
- Netherlands: https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3AFrancis%20%2Brecord_country%3ANetherlands
6
Also the Latvian form of Franciscus: https://www.pmlp.gov.lv/lv/sakums/statistika/personvardu-datu-baze/?id=137&query=Francis.
6
6
In 2018, 84 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Francis* who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 1, 524th most common female first name for living U.S. citizens.
*See Frances for the more common spelling for women.
6
*See Frances for the more common spelling for women.
6
In 2018, 59 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Francis who is registered male with the Social Security Administration. It is the 338th most common male first name for living U.S. citizens.
6
6
"Francis" is masculine, while "Frances" is feminine.
6
6
The name Francis was given to 63 girls born in the US in 2015.
6
6
In Latvia FRANCIS is a masculine name. Name day on 4th october.
4
4
I agree with others that, by convention, "Francis" is male and "Frances" is female. I had a male friend named, "Francis," and he would quip, "Dot that 'i'," to emphasize his name was the masculine form.
7
7
FRANCIS is a masculine name. The feminine form is FRANCES.
3
3
Comments are left by users of this website. They are not checked for accuracy.
The name Francis is primarily used as a Masculine name and Frances is used as a Feminine name.
Francis is sometimes used as a Feminine name as a rare variant of Frances but it's NOT very common.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/francis/top/united-states?compare=frances
https://www.behindthename.com/name/francis/top/england-wales?compare=frances
https://www.behindthename.com/name/francis/top/australia-nsw?compare=frances
Following a similar style, Francisco is a popular Masculine name in the USA and Francesca is a popular Feminine name from the 70s onwards.
Francisca is also used in the USA until it stopped using mainly in the 50s.
Francesco is NOT a popular name in the USA.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/francisco/top/united-states?compare=francesca%20francesco%20francisca
https://www.behindthename.com/name/francisco/top/england-wales?compare=francesca%20francesco%20francisca
Other countries are subject to their own variations (Like Francesco being popular in Italy as a Masculine name and Francisca being popular as a Feminine name in Latin America and Brazil).
https://www.behindthename.com/name/francesco
https://www.behindthename.com/name/francisca
https://forebears.io/forenames/francesco
https://forebears.io/forenames/francisca