ninan.org

Francis

Boys' name · Early 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~118,600 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#420 among boys
Births in 2025
891 320,322 since 1880
Typical age
64 years, median

Francis popularity over time

Francis rank by birth year, 1880–2025Francis ranked #50 in 1880 and #420 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #29, in 1915.#100#420best #29 in 191518901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Francis in 1918 than in any other year — 7,000 of them. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Francis has spent 76 years inside the national top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #420 with 891 births. Over ten years the count has risen 30%. Year on year the rank improved by 30.

Babies named Francis per yearPeaks at 7,000 births in 1918.7,000 in 1918018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Francis?

An estimated 118,600 living Americans are called Francis. That is out of 320,322 recorded births since 1880. The split is about 12,000 women and 106,700 men.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Francis?

Median age among living Franciss: 64. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Francis a early 20th-century perennial name.

Your Francis

Ages of living people named FrancisHalf of living Franciss are older than 64 and half younger.median 64020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Francis is most common

Francis is 4.0× as common in District of Columbia as it is nationally. Massachusetts, Minnesota and Pennsylvania follow.

Where Francis is used more than average5 states use the name Francis more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: 2.3× the national rateMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 2.2× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: 2.0× the national rateCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: 2.8× the national rateMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 4.0× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Francis is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
District of Columbia 54 4.0×
Massachusetts 323 2.8×
Minnesota 234 2.3×
Pennsylvania 489 2.2×
Connecticut 107 2.0×

Is Francis a boy's or a girl's name?

9% girls91% boys
Share of all recorded US births under this name, 1880 to the latest year.

The name leans boys, but 11.7% of births in the last decade were girls. Across the whole record, 9.3% of births under the name were girls.

Francis in England and Wales

ONS recorded 275 births named Francis in 2025, ranking it #193.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Francis comes from

Borrowed from Medieval Latin Franciscus (“French(man)”) (from Francia (“France”)). Doublet of Francisco, Franz.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Francis

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Francis Bacon English philosopher and statesman 1561–1626 188
Francis Drake English sailor and privateer (c. 1540 – 1596) 1540–1596 121
Francis Ford Coppola American filmmaker 1939 101
Francis Crick British molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA 1916–2004 97
Francis Fukuyama American political scientist, political economist, and author 1952 80
Francis William Aston British chemist 1877–1945 78
Francis Galton British eugenist, polymath, and behavioural geneticist 1822–1911 73
Francis Picabia French painter and writer 1879–1953 57
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 1,545 in 1911 to 2,789 in 1912 — 1.8 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/francis.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).