Francois

Francois is a masculine given name of French origin. It is the French form of Francis, derived from the Latin Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman" or, more broadly, "free man." The standard French spelling is François, which uses a cedilla under the c to indicate the soft s sound before a, o, or u; Francois (without diacritics) appears in contexts where diacritics are omitted and can also function as a surname in some cases.

In francophone countries, François has been a common name since the Middle Ages and remains widely used today. It is associated with religious and cultural figures named Saint François (Saint Francis of Assisi in English), and with many notable individuals across politics, arts, and science. The English cognate is Francis, and contemporary English use often favors the diminutives Frank or Frankie.

Notable people named François include François Mitterrand, who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995; François Hollande, President from 2012 to 2017; the filmmaker François Truffaut; the writer François Rabelais; and the medieval poet François Villon. The form also appears as a surname in various Francophone communities.

As a given name, François has inspired numerous compound forms and diminutives, such as François-Xavier or François-Joseph, and it remains common in France, Belgium, Canada (notably Quebec), and other regions with French heritage.