The surname Francis is of English origin. It is derived from a very popular medieval given name; Latin ‘Franciscus’, introduced into England in the Old French form ‘Francois’. It is the English and Old French form of the Italian Francesco, introduced into England in the sixteenth century, when there was a surge of admiration for, and imitation of, Italian Renaissance culture. This was originally an ethnic name meaning ‘Frenchman’; most of the Romance cognatives are ambiguous between derivation from the ethnic name and the given name. The numerous diminutives, however, almost all belong to the given name, and in England the ethnic name is normally represented by French. The given name owed much of its popularity during the Middle Ages to the fame of St. Francis of Assisi ( 1181-1226 ), whose baptismal name was Giovanni ( John ) but who was nicknamed Francisco because his father was absent in France at the time of his birth. The surname has been used by Jewish people as an anglicization of one or more like sounding Hebrew names. The name dates back to the twelfth century …
Coat of arms: Gules a chevron erminie between thr…