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

François, 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 François surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of François in America

François is the 2467th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The François surname appeared 14,593 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname François.

We can also compare 2010 data for François 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 François

The surname Francois originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the medieval French words "franc" meaning "free" and "ois" meaning "from." The name was likely given to someone who was granted freedom or came from an area known for its free people.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Francois appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript recording landholders in England after the Norman conquest. Entries such as "Radulfus Francois" and "Willelmus Francois" are found in this historical document.

In the 12th century, the surname Francois began appearing in various regions of France, including Normandy, Brittany, and Anjou. Place names like Francoisville, Francoiscourt, and Francoislieu likely contributed to the spread and variations of the surname.

Notable individuals with the surname Francois include the 16th-century French explorer and navigator Jacques Francois (1534-1598), who led expeditions to the Americas. Another famous bearer of the name was the 17th-century French writer and philosopher René Francois (1623-1662), known for his work "Discours de la Méthode."

In the 18th century, the French novelist and playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799), whose original surname was Francois, gained fame for his plays "The Barber of Seville" and "The Marriage of Figaro."

The 19th century saw the French painter Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875), renowned for his depictions of peasant life, and the French composer César Francois (1822-1890), known for his operas and ballets.

Moving into the 20th century, the French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Francois (1905-1980) made significant contributions to existentialism and phenomenology, while the Canadian ice hockey player Bernie Francois (1926-2003) played for the Boston Bruins and won the Stanley Cup in 1952.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name François

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

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 François 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 François 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 François was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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