Francis is an English, French, German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name of Latin origin.

Notably, the Germanic of the Franks gave their name to France and their characteristic national weapon was the francisca, a throwing axe.

Francesco ("Free man", "Frank", "Frenchman", in medieval Italian)[5] was the name given to Saint Francis of Assisi (born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone) by his francophile father, whose wife, the mother of Francesco, was French,[6] celebrating his trade with French merchants.

Due to the renown of the saint, the name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages in its different versions (Francisco, François, etc.).

[7] Related names are common in other Western European languages, in countries that are (or were before the Reformation) Catholic.