France
Country in Western Europe renowned for its culture, cuisine, and arts.
Name Census estimates that about 605 living Americans carry the first name France. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.4% of registrations being female. The average person named France today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of France births was 1918 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for France. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
605
~ 1 in 566,536 Americans
Peak year
1918
74 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,738
Tracked since 1894
Census
France in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,042 people with the first name France, which placed it at #7,468 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,468
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,042 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for France
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named France is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Hispanic (9.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name France described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name France at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.3% · 1,191
- Black or African American23.8% · 486
- Hispanic or Latino9.0% · 184
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 117
- Two or more races2.6% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for France
France is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,538 total registrations, 379 (24.6%) were male and 1,159 (75.4%) were female.
France as a male name
- Ranked #12,738 in 2021
- 5 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1918 (39 births)
France as a female name
- Ranked #17,347 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 1918 (35 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, France leans strongly female. 1,687 people counted with this name were female (82.6%), compared with 356 male bearers (17.4%).
Popularity
France: popularity over time
The SSA tracks France from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 286 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
France by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name France during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Frances live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi recorded the most babies named France, while Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of France
The name France is a feminine given name of French origin. It is derived from the Latin name "Francia," which referred to the territory of the Franks, a Germanic tribe that settled in the region of modern-day France during the 5th century AD. The name Francia eventually evolved into the modern French word "France," which became the country's name.
In the Middle Ages, the name France was occasionally bestowed upon girls born in the region, as a symbol of their connection to the land and its people. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is found in the 12th century, when a noblewoman named France de Valois was mentioned in historical records.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity among the French aristocracy. A notable bearer of the name was France Brossier (1510-1582), a French noblewoman and courtier of King Henry II of France.
In the 17th century, the name was used by France Pernet (1628-1701), a French midwife and writer who authored several books on childbirth and midwifery practices.
Another historical figure with the name France was France Théolon (1677-1760), a French painter and engraver who was active in the early 18th century.
In more recent history, France Prešeren (1800-1849) was a renowned Slovenian poet and the national poet of Slovenia. His works played a significant role in the development of Slovenian literature and the Slovenian language.
While the name France has never been widespread outside of France and its cultural sphere, it remains a tribute to the country's rich history and cultural heritage. Its usage has been a way to celebrate the nation's identity and the spirit of its people throughout the centuries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named France
People
France + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with France as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
France: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named France?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 605 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for France going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 566,536 US residents.
Is France a common name?
We classify France as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,538 babies have been registered with this name.
When was France most popular?
The single biggest year for France was 1918, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living France is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was France in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,042 people with the name France, or 0.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,468 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name France in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for France?
In the 2020 Census sex table, France leans strongly female. 1,687 people counted with this name were female (82.6%), compared with 356 male bearers (17.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named France?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named France is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Hispanic (9.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name France most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named France in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.3% (1,191 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name France in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is France a female name?
Yes, 75.4% of people registered as France in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is France still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded France in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like France can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name France?
See how many Americans are named France on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.