Frances

Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.'^{[citation needed]} The male version of the name in English is Francis.

Notable people and characters with the name include:

People[]

• Frances (musician) (born 1993), British singer and songwriter
• Frances Burke, Countess of Clanricarde (1567–1633), English noblewoman and Irish countess
• Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset (1590–1632), central figure in a famous scandal and murder
• Frances Lewis Brackett Damon (1857–1939), American poet, writer
• Frances Davidson, Viscountess Davidson (1894–1985), British politician and Member of Parliament
• Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (1517–1559), granddaughter of Henry VII of England and mother of Queen Jane Grey
• Frances Haugen, American data engineer and scientist, product manager, and whistleblower
• Frances Hyde, Countess of Clarendon (c. 1617–1667), mother-in-law of King James II of England and maternal grandmother of Mary II and Queen Anne
• Frances Newton, Lady Cobham (1539–1592), one of the closest friends of Queen Elizabeth I of England
• Frances Radclyffe, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I
• Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (1599–1674), English noblewoman
• Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond, as known as 'La Belle Stuart', the face of Britannia
• Frances Talbot, Countess of Tyrconnell (c. 1647–1730), English courtier and Irish countess
• Frances Vane, Viscountess Vane (1715–1788), British memoirist known for her highly public adulterous relationships
• Frances Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave (1821–1879), a leader and hostess of society
• Frances Atkins, British chef
• Frances Barkman (1885–1946), Russian-born Australian schoolteacher and Jewish community worker
• Frances Catherine Barnard (1796–1869), English author
• Frances Elizabeth Barrow (1822–1894), American children's writer
• Frances Black (born 1960), Irish singer
• Frances Manwaring Caulkins (1795–1869), American historian, genealogist, author
• Frances Bean Cobain (born 1992), American artist, daughter of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and singer Courtney Love
• Frances Augusta Hemingway Conant (1842–1903), American journalist, editor, businesswoman
• Frances Conroy, American actress
• Frances Cornford (1886–1960), English poet
• Frances Dickinson (1856–1945), American physician, clubwoman
• Frances Dodge (1914–1971), American internationally known horsewoman
• Frances Scott Fitzgerald (1921–1986), American journalist
• Frances Burney (1752–1840), English novelist, diarist and playwright
• Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924), English playwright and author
• Frances Farmer, American actress
• Frances Fisher, American actress
• Frances FitzGerald (journalist) (born 1940), American journalist and author
• Frances Fitzgerald (politician) (born 1950), Irish Fine Gael politician
• Frances Forbes-Robertson (1866–1956), British novelist
• Frances X. Frei, American academic and businesswoman
• Frances Elizabeth Fryatt, American author, editor, specialist in household applied arts
• Frances Irene Burge Griswold (1826–1900), American poet, author
• Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879), English hymnwriter, religious poet
• Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864–1952), American photographer and photojournalist
• Frances Môn Jones (1919–2000), Welsh harpist and teacher
• Frances Kirwan (born 1959), British mathematician
• Frances Latham (1610–1677), colonial woman in Rhode Island known as "the Mother of Governors" for having 10 governors among her direct descendants
• Frances Lupton (1821–1892), English reformer for female education
• Frances MacDonald (1873–1921), Scottish artist
• Frances Harrison Marr (1835–1918), American poet
• Frances McDormand (born 1957), American actress
• Frances McKee (born 1966), Scottish musician, guitarist for Scottish indie band The Vaselines
• Frances Gertrude McGill (1882–1959), pioneering Canadian forensic pathologist and criminologist
• Frances Laughton Mace (1836–1899), American poet
• Frances Margaret Milne (1846–?), Irish-born American writer and librarian
• Frances Nelson (1761–1831), wife of Admiral Horatio Nelson
• Frances Osborne (born 1969), British author
• Frances Perkins (1880–1965), the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position, and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet
• Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston (1864–1937), wife of US President Grover Cleveland
• Frances Quinlan, American musician
• Frances of Rome (1384–1440), Italian saint, mystic, organizer of charitable services and Benedictine oblate who founded a religious community of oblates
• Frances Rutherford (1912–2006), New Zealand artist and occupational therapist
• Frances Schreuder (1938–2004), American murderer in the Franklin Bradshaw murder.
• Frances Alice Shepherd, Canadian academic
• Frances Lee Strong or Grandma Lee (1934–2020), American comedian
• Frances T. Sullivan, New York State assemblywoman 1991–2002
• Frances Shand Kydd (1936–2004), British viscountess, mother of Diana, Princess of Wales
• Frances Sweeney (1908–1944), American journalist and anti-fascist activist
• Francie Swift, born Frances Swift, American actress
• Frances Tiafoe, (male) American tennis player
• Frances Christine Fisher Tiernan (1846–1920), American novelist and author under the pen name Christian Reid
• Frances Trollope (1779–1863), English novelist and writer, mother of novelist and writer Anthony Trollope
• Frances Eleanor Trollope (1835–1913), sister of Ellen Ternan (Charles Dickens' mistress) and sister-in-law of Anthony Trollope
• Frances Willard (1839–1898), American educator, temperance reformer and women's suffragist
• Frances Yip, Hong Kong singer
• Frances (Fanny) Brawne (1800–1865), fiancée of Romantic poet John Keats
• Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917), Italian-American Roman Catholic nun and saint

Fictional characters[]

• Frances, the title character in the children's book series by Russell Hoban
• Frances Earnshaw, from the novel Wuthering Heights
• Frances "Baby" Houseman (portrayed by Jennifer Grey), from the movie Dirty Dancing
• Frances, in the anime Sonic X
• Frances "Franny" Glass, from Franny and Zooey
• Mary Frances "Francie" Nolan, from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• Frances Stevens, played by Grace Kelly in Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief
• Frances Ha, the title character, played by Greta Gerwig, in the 2012 American black and white comedy-drama film, Frances Ha
• Frances "Frankie" Heck, played by Patricia Heaton on the ABC sitcom The Middle
• Frances the Firefly, the protagonist in a fire safety public information film

See also[]

• Francie
• Frannie

Name list

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