Franz

Franz is a masculine given name common in German-speaking countries. It is the German form of Francis, derived from the Latin Franciscus, meaning “Frenchman” or “from France.” The name has been widely used in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, and has produced many notable figures in the arts, sciences, and public life.

Notable people named Franz include Franz Liszt, Hungarian-born composer and pianist; Franz Schubert, Austrian composer; Franz Kafka, Czech-born writer who wrote in German; Franz Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager; Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este whose assassination helped trigger World War I; and Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. The name has appeared across various disciplines and eras, contributing to music, literature, politics, and sports.

Franz is also the name of a cross-platform messaging application that aggregates multiple chat services into a single interface. Developed by Franz Technologies GmbH, it supports WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, Discord, and others, on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The project has existed as a freemium product, with a community fork named Ferdi continuing in open-source form.