2000
#406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 71,723
First available Census row
Per 100,000 26.59
Uncommon Last name
Francis
An English and French surname derived from the personal name Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman" or "free man."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 89,672 Americans carry the last name Francis. That puts it at #406 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 26.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,822 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Francis surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Francis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
90K
1 in 3,822
Census rank
#406
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
26.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
78K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 78,198 bearers of the surname Francis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 26.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 406th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Francis, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.7%. The next largest groups are Black (30.9%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Francis
The surname Francis derives from the French personal name François, which itself comes from the Germanic name Franciscus. The name Franciscus is composed of the Frankish word 'franko', meaning free or frank, and the suffix '-isk', which was used to form ethnic names. The name was likely first adopted by the Franks when they converted to Christianity.
The name Francis first appeared in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landholders and their properties throughout England. Early spellings of the name included Franceis, Fraunceys, and Fraunceis.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Sir Robert Francis, a Norman knight who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066. He was granted lands in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.
Another notable early bearer of the name was Adam Francis, a wealthy merchant from Bristol, England, who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the city's wool trade and served as Mayor of Bristol in 1256.
In the 14th century, the name was associated with several places in England, such as Francis Court in Berkshire and Francis Farm in Essex. These place names likely derived from the surname itself.
One of the most famous historical figures with the surname Francis was Sir Philip Francis (1740-1818), an Irish-born British politician and writer. He was best known for being the alleged author of the Letters of Junius, a series of political polemics that were published in London newspapers between 1769 and 1772.
Another notable bearer of the name was Tench Francis (1730-1800), an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the Continental Congress and was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation.
In the 19th century, Sir Philip Francis (1822-1911), an English civil servant and diplomat, served as the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and played a significant role in the negotiations leading up to the Congress of Berlin in 1878.
The surname Francis has also been associated with several notable artists and writers, including the English novelist and essayist Mary E. Francis (1890-1957) and the American artist Sam Francis (1923-1994), who was a leading figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Francis
Among Census respondents with the surname Francis, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.7%. The next largest groups are Black (30.9%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Francis bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Francis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.7% · 43,574
- Black or African American30.9% · 24,167
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 3,638
- Two or more races4.3% · 3,387
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 1,960
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 1,472
Timeline
Historical Census data for Francis
Francis appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 78,327
+6,604 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 26.55
Rank movement Down 7 places
2020
#406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 78,198
-129 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 26.16
Rank movement Up 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #406 | 71,723 | 26.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #413 | 78,327 | 26.55 | +6,604 bearers (+9.2%) | Down 7 places |
| 2020 | #406 | 78,198 | 26.16 | -129 bearers (-0.2%) | Up 7 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Francis surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #413 | #406 | 1.7% |
| Count | 78,327 | 78,198 | -0.2% |
| Per 100K | 26.55 | 26.16 | -1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Francis bearers went from 78,327 to 78,198 (-0.2% change). The surname moved up 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #413 to #406.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Francis
FAQ
Francis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Francis?
Name Census estimates that about 89,672 living Americans carry the surname Francis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,822 residents.
How common is Francis?
Francis ranks #406 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 26.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 26 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 78,198 people with the surname Francis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (89,672), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 26.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 26.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 26 of them to have the surname Francis.
Has Francis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Francis went from 78,327 recorded bearers to 78,198. That is a decrease of 129 (-0.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #413 to #406.
What does the Census say about the background of Francis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Francis, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.7%. The next largest groups are Black (30.9%) and Hispanic (4.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Francis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.7% (43,574 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Francis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.7%), Black (30.9%), Hispanic (4.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Francis (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Francis mean?
An English and French surname derived from the personal name Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman" or "free man." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Francis (26.16 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Francis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.