Francis
Francis is given to both girls and boys: 122 girls and 769 boys were given it in 2025 (#1,685 among girls’ names and #420 among boys’, #719 among all names counting both); 320,322 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 110,000 Americans named Francis and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (34% of everyone recorded); the median is 63 years old and half are between 40 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Francis by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Francis mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Francis is “a male given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the senses “French(man)” (Franciscus) and “France” (Francia).
Also “a female given name from Latin, alternative spelling of Frances.”
Borrowed from Medieval Latin Franciscus (“French(man)”) (from Francia (“France”)). Doublet of Francisco and Franz.
/ˈfɹænsɪs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Francis?
#420 among boys’ names, 2025
Francis rose from #481 in 2015 to #420 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.32 to 0.45 per 1,000.
7,000 babies in 1918, the peak
Francis peaked in 1918, when 7,000 babies were given it (6,347 boys, #30 among boys’ names). The 891 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 13% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 769 | #420 | 0.45 |
| 2024 | 695 | #450 | 0.40 |
| 2023 | 677 | #456 | 0.40 |
| 2022 | 664 | #462 | 0.38 |
| 2021 | 637 | #467 | 0.36 |
| 2020 | 616 | #482 | 0.36 |
| 2019 | 605 | #484 | 0.34 |
| 2018 | 610 | #480 | 0.34 |
| 2017 | 662 | #458 | 0.36 |
| 2016 | 638 | #482 | 0.34 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 622 | #481 | 0.32 |
| 2014 | 593 | #480 | 0.31 |
| 2013 | 539 | #505 | 0.28 |
| 2012 | 430 | #593 | 0.23 |
| 2011 | 387 | #617 | 0.20 |
| 2010 | 358 | #671 | 0.19 |
| 2009 | 359 | #676 | 0.18 |
| 2008 | 368 | #660 | 0.18 |
| 2007 | 402 | #616 | 0.19 |
| 2006 | 451 | #556 | 0.22 |
| 2005 | 463 | #526 | 0.23 |
| 2004 | 456 | #524 | 0.23 |
| 2003 | 465 | #518 | 0.24 |
| 2002 | 464 | #497 | 0.24 |
| 2001 | 546 | #444 | 0.28 |
| 2000 | 559 | #435 | 0.28 |
| 1999 | 542 | #430 | 0.28 |
| 1998 | 580 | #410 | 0.30 |
| 1997 | 628 | #385 | 0.33 |
| 1996 | 607 | #384 | 0.32 |
| 1995 | 697 | #352 | 0.37 |
| 1994 | 726 | #339 | 0.38 |
| 1993 | 753 | #335 | 0.38 |
| 1992 | 803 | #318 | 0.40 |
| 1991 | 824 | #313 | 0.41 |
| 1990 | 919 | #284 | 0.45 |
| 1989 | 921 | #268 | 0.46 |
| 1988 | 952 | #247 | 0.50 |
| 1987 | 949 | #244 | 0.51 |
| 1986 | 915 | #245 | 0.50 |
| 1985 | 935 | #245 | 0.51 |
| 1984 | 902 | #243 | 0.50 |
| 1983 | 961 | #232 | 0.54 |
| 1982 | 981 | #238 | 0.54 |
| 1981 | 974 | #236 | 0.54 |
| 1980 | 922 | #243 | 0.52 |
| 1979 | 929 | #237 | 0.54 |
| 1978 | 940 | #225 | 0.57 |
| 1977 | 896 | #235 | 0.55 |
| 1976 | 836 | #240 | 0.53 |
| 1975 | 957 | #217 | 0.61 |
| 1974 | 888 | #233 | 0.56 |
| 1973 | 979 | #223 | 0.63 |
| 1972 | 989 | #222 | 0.61 |
| 1971 | 1,209 | #201 | 0.68 |
| 1970 | 1,389 | #192 | 0.75 |
| 1969 | 1,429 | #189 | 0.80 |
| 1968 | 1,515 | #175 | 0.87 |
| 1967 | 1,583 | #169 | 0.91 |
| 1966 | 1,696 | #164 | 1.0 |
| 1965 | 1,815 | #164 | 1.0 |
| 1964 | 2,068 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1963 | 2,174 | #153 | 1.1 |
| 1962 | 2,293 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1961 | 2,345 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1960 | 2,416 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1959 | 2,649 | #136 | 1.2 |
| 1958 | 2,620 | #135 | 1.2 |
| 1957 | 2,936 | #128 | 1.4 |
| 1956 | 3,301 | #111 | 1.6 |
| 1955 | 3,439 | #100 | 1.7 |
| 1954 | 3,686 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1953 | 3,875 | #90 | 2.0 |
| 1952 | 3,979 | #89 | 2.0 |
| 1951 | 4,199 | #85 | 2.2 |
| 1950 | 4,082 | #86 | 2.3 |
| 1949 | 4,281 | #78 | 2.4 |
| 1948 | 4,214 | #80 | 2.4 |
| 1947 | 4,208 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1946 | 4,006 | #80 | 2.5 |
| 1945 | 3,448 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1944 | 3,652 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1943 | 4,068 | #64 | 2.9 |
| 1942 | 4,297 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1941 | 3,738 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1940 | 3,607 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1939 | 3,721 | #53 | 3.4 |
| 1938 | 3,951 | #51 | 3.6 |
| 1937 | 3,730 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1936 | 3,876 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1935 | 3,894 | #53 | 3.7 |
| 1934 | 4,006 | #49 | 3.9 |
| 1933 | 4,093 | #45 | 4.1 |
| 1932 | 4,388 | #43 | 4.2 |
| 1931 | 4,735 | #42 | 4.6 |
| 1930 | 4,990 | #42 | 4.5 |
| 1929 | 5,270 | #39 | 4.9 |
| 1928 | 5,516 | #40 | 5.0 |
| 1927 | 5,644 | #36 | 5.0 |
| 1926 | 5,789 | #35 | 5.2 |
| 1925 | 5,978 | #35 | 5.4 |
| 1924 | 6,131 | #34 | 5.4 |
| 1923 | 6,087 | #34 | 5.6 |
| 1922 | 6,147 | #34 | 5.6 |
| 1921 | 6,293 | #35 | 5.7 |
| 1920 | 6,241 | #34 | 5.9 |
| 1919 | 5,726 | #34 | 5.8 |
| 1918 | 6,347 | #30 | 6.3 |
| 1917 | 5,801 | #30 | 6.3 |
| 1916 | 5,652 | #31 | 6.3 |
| 1915 | 5,594 | #29 | 6.6 |
| 1914 | 3,901 | #31 | 6.0 |
| 1913 | 3,205 | #30 | 6.3 |
| 1912 | 2,516 | #35 | 5.9 |
| 1911 | 1,311 | #33 | 5.8 |
| 1910 | 1,000 | #36 | 5.1 |
| 1909 | 886 | #33 | 5.4 |
| 1908 | 853 | #34 | 5.5 |
| 1907 | 717 | #37 | 4.9 |
| 1906 | 737 | #35 | 5.5 |
| 1905 | 685 | #36 | 5.2 |
| 1904 | 686 | #36 | 5.4 |
| 1903 | 665 | #35 | 5.6 |
| 1902 | 597 | #38 | 4.9 |
| 1901 | 543 | #36 | 5.1 |
| 1900 | 652 | #41 | 4.3 |
| 1899 | 501 | #38 | 4.7 |
| 1898 | 541 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1897 | 496 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1896 | 551 | #39 | 4.6 |
| 1895 | 480 | #45 | 4.1 |
| 1894 | 423 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1893 | 418 | #48 | 3.7 |
| 1892 | 429 | #50 | 3.5 |
| 1891 | 333 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1890 | 363 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1889 | 346 | #55 | 3.1 |
| 1888 | 353 | #57 | 2.9 |
| 1887 | 327 | #54 | 3.2 |
| 1886 | 344 | #55 | 3.1 |
| 1885 | 319 | #56 | 3.0 |
| 1884 | 340 | #57 | 3.0 |
| 1883 | 285 | #60 | 2.7 |
| 1882 | 327 | #56 | 2.9 |
| 1881 | 259 | #63 | 2.6 |
| 1880 | 344 | #50 | 3.1 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Francis a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 320,322 Americans recorded as Francis, 9% are girls and 91% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Francis: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Francis, and how old are they?
110,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 34% of the 320,322 Americans ever recorded as Francis. The median Francis alive today is 63 years old; half are between 40 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 138,493 people named Francis (17,230 women and girls, 121,263 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 127,263 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 15,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 43,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 18,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 15,300 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 8,590 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 9,320 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Francis born?
The states with the most babies named Francis are Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts, with 39% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 43,908 | #205 | 2.0× |
| New York | 43,140 | #246 | 1.6× |
| Massachusetts | 29,076 | #185 | 2.9× |
| New Jersey | 14,236 | #245 | 1.6× |
| Illinois | 12,930 | #265 | 0.8× |
| California | 10,436 | #532 | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 9,474 | #317 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 8,930 | #352 | 0.7× |
| Connecticut | 8,008 | #226 | 1.9× |
| Texas | 7,632 | #737 | 0.4× |
Where Francis is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Francis is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 2.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Francis with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 322,145 babies since 1880, Francis is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 891 of their 909 babies (98%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Francis
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Francis and names like it
- Compare Francis and FrancoisBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sFrancis peaked in 1918.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Francis since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Francis: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Francis.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Francis alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with FMost given first.