Francis is often shortened to Frank, but in fact these two names were originally separate.
Francis is the English version of the Italian Francesco; this comes from the late Latin Franciscus, meaning "French (man.) St Francis of Assisi was given this name as a nickname due to family connections with France.
Frank is older than Francis. Its origins are Germanic, and it originally meant "member of the tribe of the Franks." The name of the Frankish tribe is probably based on a characteristic type of spear that they used. This Germanic race moved to Gaul around the 4th century, and by the 6th century had conquered it and given it its present name of France.
Both Francis and Frank are sometimes changed to the pet form of Frankie (as in entertainers Frankie Vaughan and Frankie Howerd.) Frankie is also occasionally used as a girl's name, a pet form of the feminine variants of Francis – Frances, Francesca and, in German, Fransiska.
Francis is the English version of the Italian Francesco; this comes from the late Latin Franciscus, meaning "French (man.) St Francis of Assisi was given this name as a nickname due to family connections with France.
Frank is older than Francis. Its origins are Germanic, and it originally meant "member of the tribe of the Franks." The name of the Frankish tribe is probably based on a characteristic type of spear that they used. This Germanic race moved to Gaul around the 4th century, and by the 6th century had conquered it and given it its present name of France.
Both Francis and Frank are sometimes changed to the pet form of Frankie (as in entertainers Frankie Vaughan and Frankie Howerd.) Frankie is also occasionally used as a girl's name, a pet form of the feminine variants of Francis – Frances, Francesca and, in German, Fransiska.
