Francis
Usually a surname adopted from the medieval name Francis, though some early English examples were shaped by the meaning “the Frenchman.”
The #413 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,942 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is generally tied to the personal name Francis, ultimately from Latin Franciscus, meaning “Frenchman” or “of the Franks.” In England, however, some early forms were not from the given name at all but from medieval French bynames such as le Franceys or le Franseys, literally “the Frenchman.” The shorter nickname Frank could also stand in for Francis and may have contributed to some later surname instances.
History
Francis became especially common after the Christian name spread in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. In medieval and early modern records, the surname appears in several overlapping forms, which can make it hard to separate true patronymic use from ethnic byname use. The name later became widespread in Britain and the English-speaking world, and is now familiar both as a surname and a forename-derived family name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root behind Francis also lies behind the related surname Frank and the old English byname Franceys, both tied to the idea of “the Frenchman.”
From the historical record
“FRANCE. From the country. FRANCIS. Not from the personal name, which is of too recent introduction ; but as in the H.R., Le Franceys, Le Franseys, Le Frauuceys, " the Frenchman." FRANEY. See Freyne. FRANK. FRANKS. FRANKES. The nursename Frank stands for Francis, Fran- ciscus, and this may be in some instances the…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom