Francis comes from the Latin Franciscus, "Frenchman" or "free one", the nickname of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose father called him Francesco after his love of France. Pope Francis, Francis Scott Key, author of The Star-Spangled Banner, and director Francis Ford Coppola carry the name in modern memory. Francis has been in the US top 1000 all century and has risen from the 480s to number 420 in 2025, its best rank of this century.