Francelia
A feminine name of French origin, possibly meaning "from France".
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Francelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Francelia today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Francelia births was 1969 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Francelia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
1969
23 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1998 SSA rank
#11,532
Tracked since 1912
Census
Francelia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 647 people with the first name Francelia, which placed it at #17,179 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,179
National first-name rank
People counted
647
647 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
71.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Francelia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Francelia is Hispanic at 71.3%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (9.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Francelia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Francelia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino71.3% · 461
- White11.7% · 76
- Black or African American9.0% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.5% · 42
- Two or more races0.9% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 4
Popularity
Francelia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Francelia from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 61 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Francelia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Francelia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Francelia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Francelias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Francelia
The name Francelia finds its origins in the Latin language, believed to have emerged during the late Roman period. It is a feminine variant of the masculine name Franciscus, which derives from the Latin adjective "Francus," meaning "free" or "Frank." The Franks were a Germanic tribe that played a crucial role in the establishment of medieval France.
The earliest recorded use of the name Francelia dates back to the 12th century, where it appears in several ecclesiastical records from regions of present-day France and Italy. It is believed that the name gained popularity among noble families during this time, possibly as a way to honor the influential Frankish heritage.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Francelia was a Benedictine nun who lived in the 13th century in a monastery located in the Duchy of Burgundy. Although little is known about her life, her name is mentioned in various monastic chronicles from that era.
In the 14th century, Francelia del Fiore, a renowned Italian poet and scholar, gained recognition for her literary works and contributions to the intellectual circles of Florence. Born in 1355, she was praised for her mastery of classical literature and her ability to compose intricate sonnets and odes.
During the Renaissance period, Francelia Montefeltro, daughter of the Duke of Urbino, was a prominent figure in the Italian courts. Born in 1472, she was renowned for her patronage of the arts and her influential role in shaping the cultural landscape of her time.
In the 17th century, Francelia de Montfort, a French noblewoman and philanthropist, left a lasting impact on her community. Born in 1612, she established several charitable institutions and was celebrated for her dedication to helping the less fortunate.
The 19th century saw the rise of Francelia Bayliss, an English artist and illustrator known for her exquisite botanical drawings. Born in 1828, her works were widely acclaimed and featured in prestigious publications of the time.
Throughout history, the name Francelia has carried a sense of nobility, grace, and cultural heritage, reflecting its Latin roots and the influence of the Frankish people on the formation of medieval European societies.
People
Francelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Francelia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Francelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Francelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Francelia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Francelia a common name?
We classify Francelia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 329 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Francelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Francelia was 1969, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Francelia is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Francelia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 647 people with the name Francelia, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,179 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Francelia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Francelia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Francelia appears almost entirely female. Of the 645 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Francelia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Francelia is Hispanic at 71.3%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (9.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Francelia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Francelia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.3% (461 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Francelia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Francelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Francelia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Francelia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Francelia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Francelia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Francelia?
Want to know how many people share the name Francelia? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.