Frances

English from Latin

"from France; free man"

Frances Origin and Meaning

The name Frances is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "from France; free man".

Frances, a soft and gentle classic last popular a hundred years ago, is trending again. The cool nickname Frankie is one reason for the revival of Frances, adding lightness and sass to a serious name. Frances is the feminine form of Francis, the English variation of the Latin name Franciscus. Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman," was taken from the Germanic tribe the Franks, which got its name from the francisca, the axe they used in battle. Until the seventeenth century, the spellings Frances and Francis were used interchangeably for both sexes.

More recently, Frances started receiving new attention when it was chosen in the early 90s by Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love for their only child. It's been by such stylish parents as Jimmy Fallon and Amanda Peet (who nicknamed her daughter Frankie).

Frances was a favorite of the Tudor aristocracy after being given to Henry VII's granddaughter. St. Frances (Mother) Cabrini was the first American citizen to be canonized.

Some of the best known pop culture bearers of the name were known by diminutives—the Franny of J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey, Francie in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Frankie in A Member of the Wedding, Baby in Dirty Dancing, and Gidget in Gidget. Traditional nickname Fran feels a bit bland and Fanny, though possessing some eighteenth century charm, is unusable in Britain and Australia where it is slang for female genitalia.

Frances is the endearing badger in the childhood favorite Bedtime for Frances and other Frances books.

Among well known bearers are Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor in the Roosevelt era; actresses McDormand, Dee, Farmer, and Fisher; journalist Fitzgerald; and writers Burney and Hodgson Burnett.

Frances was the abandoned first name of Judy Garland, Dinah Shore, and Dale Evans.

Some attractive foreign versions are the increasingly popular Francesca, Francoise, Franca, Fanya, and Francine.

Frances began trending upward before Pope Francis was named in 2013, but that helped propel it up further than this somewhat sedate classic name might have gone on its own.

Frances Rank in US Top 1000

# 405 in the US

Frances Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 159 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Frances

• 405 US 2023
• 159 Nameberry 2025
• 351 Future 2028
• 429 England 2023

20 Names Similar to Frances

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Frances.

• Harriet
• Edith
• Dorothy
• Ruth
• Agnes
• Winifred
• Louise
• Greta
• Philippa
• Beatrice
• Henrietta
• Louisa
• Maude
• Dorothea
• Martha
• Ida
• Ramona
• Esther
• Alma
• Florence

Famous People Named Frances

• Frances Elena Farmer American actress
• Frances Ann O'Connor Australian actress
• Saint Frances of Rome Italian mystic and oblate
• Frances Grey Duchess of Suffolk, mother of Lady Jane Grey
• Frances Newton Lady Cobham, Lady of the Bedchamber to England's Queen Elizabeth I
• Frances Radclyffe Countess of Sussex, Lady of the Bedchamber to England's Queen Elizabeth I
• Frances Custis daughter of U.S. First Lady Martha Washington and Daniel Custis
• Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey pharmacologist and physician of the FDA who refused to authorize Thalidomide
• Frances "Fanny" Nelson Viscountess Nelson, wife of Admiral Horatio Nelson
• Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812 1897), translator of hymn "Jesus Lives!"
• Frances Ridley Havergal (1836 1879), hymnist and composer
• Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland Preston U.S. First Lady as wife of President Grover Cleveland
• Frances Scott "Scottie" Fitzgerald American journalist, daughter of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Frances Joan Davidson Viscountess Davidson , English MP
• Frances Louise McDormand American actress
• Frances FitzGerald American journalist and author
• Frances Hodgson Burnett English children's novelist
• Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard American suffragist
• Fannie Coralie "Frances" Perkins U.S. Secretary of Labor, first woman cabinet member
• Frances Ethel Gumm birth name of American actress Judy Garland
• Frances Marie Burke Miss America 1940
• Frances Teresa Stewart Duchess of Richmond and Lennox aka La Belle Stuart, model of Britannia
• Frances Anne Vane Viscountess Vane, English memoirist
• Frances Mayes American novelist
• Frances Hardman Conroy American actress
• Frances Black Irish singer
• Frances Burney English novelist
• Eleanor Frances Callier American actress
• Frances Pen "Frankie" Benioff daughter of actress Amanda Peet
• Frances McKee Scottish musician of band The Vaselines
• Frances Hussey Sternhagan American actress
• Diana Frances Spencer Princess of Wales
• Frances Griffiths English photographer of the Cottingley Fairies
• Frances Yip Hong Kong pop singer
• Frances Clementine Suplee (b. 2006) daughter of American actor Ethan Suplee
• Frances "Frankie" Pen Friedman (b. 2007) daughter of American actress Amanda Peet
• Frances Cole Fallon (b. 2014) daughter of comedian Jimmy Fallon
• Frances Harper Wyle (b. 2015) daughter of American actor Noah Wyle
• Frances Bean Cobain daughter of musicians Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love
• Frances Laiz Setta Schenkkan (b. 2016) daughter of Brazilian,American actress Morena Baccarin and American actor Ben McKenzie
• Frances Afifi (b. 2016) daughter of actress Sarah Chalke

The name Frances in Pop Culture

• Frances "Frankie " character in "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends"
• Frances character in "Sonic X"
• Frances 'Frankie' Addams character in "The Member of the Wedding" by Carson McCullers
• Francis Bonnefoy character in "Hetalia"
• Frances "Franny" Glass character in "Franny and Zooey" by J.D. Salinger
• Frances Halladay character in "Frances Ha"
• Frances "Frankie" Heck character on 'The Middle'
• Frances Hindley character in "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte
• Frances "Baby" Houseman character in "Dirty Dancing"
• Frances Midford character in anime Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler
• Mary Frances "Francie" Nolan character in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
• Frances "Frankie" Almond Smith character in "The Hole" and "After the Hole"
• Frances "Francie" Stevens character in "To Catch A Thief"
• Frances Waters character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton
• Bedtime for Frances children's book series by Russell Hoban
• Frances "Frank" Reagan character in Blue Bloods
• Frances "Frankie" Kane aka Magenta character in DC Universe
• Frances character in short story "Fostered" by Tina Tirrell
• Frances "Frankie" Pereira character in Blue Valentine

International Variations of the name Frances

• Franette French
• Fanchon French
• Paquita Spanish
• Ziska German
• Francisca Spanish
• Franka Russian
• Francesca Italian
• Fanya Slavic
• Proinséas Irish Gaelic
• Franca Italian
• Franziska German
• Francine French
• Françoise French