Francesca is the Italian feminine form of Francesco, from the Latin Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman" or "free one". Dante immortalized Francesca da Rimini in the Inferno, and the name has a romantic, sophisticated ring in English. In the United States Francesca has been in the top 1000 throughout this century, moving from number 405 in 2000 to 307 in 2025, its best rank so far.