Franciscus


Franciscus is a Latin masculine given name, originally an epithet meaning "the Franks". It is also used as a surname. There are many related names.

Etymology and meanings

The Medieval Latin word Francus or Franciscus, meant "belonging to the people of the Franks", a Germanic people of central Europe. The Franks derived their tribal name from a type of throwing axe that they used as a weapon during the early Middle Ages. The Franks were the only tribe who had rights of free citizens in the Middle Ages, so the term frank came to mean a free, sincere, or true. The word came from the Germanic word frankô, which referred to a weapon like a javelin or spear. Before this, in Proto-Germanic the word was sahsą, meaning "knife" or "dagger".

Francis of Assisi

It was applied to Saint Francis of Assisi .
Francis had been baptized Giovanni ; his father was Italian and his mother Provençale ; his father was on business in France when he was born, and when he returned to Assisi, he began to call his son by the nickname Francesco, in the opinion of G. K. Chesterton possibly because out of a general enthusiasm for all things French, or because of his commercial success in France.
After the canonization of Saint Francis of Assisi in 1228, the custom of naming children after saints led to the popularisation of Franciscus as a given name. In the vernaculars of western Europe, the name diversified into the forms Francesco, Francisco, Francesc, François, Franz ; besides Frans, the Latin form remains commonly given in Dutch.

Modern usage

Franciscus may serve as the Latinisation of any of these given names; conversely, Francis may serve as the anglicisation of anyone called Franciscus.

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