Frances

“The French one; ultimately meaning free, via the Franks” — Latin via Old French origin

Girl's name · #318 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Few names move less than Frances — on the books since 1880, #318 in 2025, and dependable in between. Roughly 596,000 girls share it. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Frances's short forms are Frankie, Fran, Fannie, Fay, and Fanny.

Around the world: about 1 in 810 girls in New Zealand (2025) · about 1 in 990 girls in Belgium (2025) · about 1 in 1,700 girls in Sweden (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 42 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Franceses

Frances McDormand — American actress
Frances Arnold — Nobel prize winning US scientist and engineer (born 1956)
Frances Hodgson Burnett — English-American playwright and author (1849–1924)
Frances Marion — American journalist, author, film director and screenwriter (1888-1973)
Frances Allen — American computer scientist (1932–2020)

In stories & tradition

Frances (Harley Quinn) — Batman: Arkham Asylum · Batman: Arkham City
Frances James (Winners & Losers) — Winners & Losers
Frances Williams — The Cocoanuts

What Franceses become

Among 1,422 notable people named Frances:

Artists & writers appear 2× more often than among typical names — e.g. Frances Hodgson Burnett, English-American playwright and author (1849–1924).

Similar names: Sylvia · Francesca · Rosemary · Frankie · Priscilla · Rosie

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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