François
A French surname from the personal name François, ultimately meaning “Frenchman” or “man of the Franks.”
The #2,467 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,157 Americans shares it.
Etymology
François is the French form of the given name Francis, ultimately from Latin Franciscus, a name linked to the Franks, the Germanic people whose name gave rise to “French” and related words. In surname use, it usually began as a patronymic or family-name formed from an ancestor called François. Older English and genealogical sources often treat it simply as the French surname derived from the baptismal name.
History
The name is common in French-speaking areas and became more visible in England and Ireland through Huguenot and other French migrants. Nineteenth-century surname writers also note shortened or Anglicized forms such as France and Frank, which could be related in some families. As an English-language spelling, Francois often appears without the cedilla in records, even when the intended French form is François.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root that lies behind François also helped produce the words “French” and “Frank,” so the surname carries a very old ethnic history in its background.
From the historical record
“'77J. Married — AaniMe Francois liqoe and Jeanne JoaepUoe Vinltly : >t.Geo. Han. Sq. i. 149. London, 3.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances