Find out how popular the last name Francis is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Francis.

Francis, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Francis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Francis in America

Francis is the 413th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Francis surname appeared 78,327 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 27 people would have the surname Francis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Francis to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Francis

The surname Francis derives from the French personal name François, which itself comes from the Germanic name Franciscus. The name Franciscus is composed of the Frankish word 'franko', meaning free or frank, and the suffix '-isk', which was used to form ethnic names. The name was likely first adopted by the Franks when they converted to Christianity.

The name Francis first appeared in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landholders and their properties throughout England. Early spellings of the name included Franceis, Fraunceys, and Fraunceis.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Sir Robert Francis, a Norman knight who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066. He was granted lands in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.

Another notable early bearer of the name was Adam Francis, a wealthy merchant from Bristol, England, who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the city's wool trade and served as Mayor of Bristol in 1256.

In the 14th century, the name was associated with several places in England, such as Francis Court in Berkshire and Francis Farm in Essex. These place names likely derived from the surname itself.

One of the most famous historical figures with the surname Francis was Sir Philip Francis (1740-1818), an Irish-born British politician and writer. He was best known for being the alleged author of the Letters of Junius, a series of political polemics that were published in London newspapers between 1769 and 1772.

Another notable bearer of the name was Tench Francis (1730-1800), an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the Continental Congress and was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation.

In the 19th century, Sir Philip Francis (1822-1911), an English civil servant and diplomat, served as the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and played a significant role in the negotiations leading up to the Congress of Berlin in 1878.

The surname Francis has also been associated with several notable artists and writers, including the English novelist and essayist Mary E. Francis (1890-1957) and the American artist Sam Francis (1923-1994), who was a leading figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Francis

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Francis.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Francis was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Francis has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Francis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Francis, please contact us.

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