France
Where France comes from
From Middle English France, from Old French France, from Latin Francia, from Francī, the name of a Germanic tribe, of unclear (but Proto-Germanic) origin. Believed to be most likely from Frankish *Frankō (“a Frank”), from Proto-Germanic *frankô (“javelin”). Compare Frank. Displaced native Old English Francland (see modern Frankland).
- 1 syllable
- Vowel-ended
Along the way
- 1894First appearance#1,485 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
- 1918Peak, #1,27735 babies named France — more than any year before or since.
- 1922The fadeThe first year with half the peak's births — down to #2,479.
- 2021Mostly boys from hereUntil now more girls than boys got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
In the dictionary
- Alternative form of Frances; A female given name; feminine of Francis.
Namesakes
We look up famous namesakes for names that have made the top 1,000. France hasn't yet.
Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.