4-514: Frances is an English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis . The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the Franks who were named for the francisca, the axe they used in battle. Notable people and characters with the name include: Francis (given name) Francis
8-564: Is a common diminutive for Francis, as is Frannie for Frances. Less common are the diminutives Fritz for Francis, and Franny and Fran for either Francis or Frances. The name has relatively unclear origins but is thought to mean "free". Notably, the Germanic of the Franks gave their name to France and their characteristic national weapon was the francisca , a throwing axe. Francesco ("Free man", "Frank", "Frenchman", in medieval Italian)
12-419: Is an English , French , German , Dutch and Scandinavian given name of Latin origin. Francis is a name that has many derivatives in most European languages. A feminine version of the name in English is Frances , or (less commonly) Francine . (For most speakers, Francis and Frances are homophones or near homophones; a popular mnemonic for the spelling is "i for h i m and e for h e r".) The name Frank
16-605: Was the name given to Saint Francis of Assisi (born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ) by his francophile father , whose wife, the mother of Francesco, was French, celebrating his trade with French merchants. Due to the renown of the saint, the name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages in its different versions ( Francisco , François , etc.). However, it was not regularly used in Britain until
#696303