Female name
Frances
3,529 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 1996. Expression number: 3.
Origin
From Old French Franceise, feminine form of Franceis, from Late Latin Franciscus (“Frankish”). Doublet of Francesca and Francisca.From Wiktionary, entry “Frances”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know a Frances?
Send them the page about their name.
How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 1996: 274 births. 3,529 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. It is still given: 508 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1918: 16,229 births. 600,721 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. At its peak, it ranked 8th among girls' names in 1918. It is still given: 4,129 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 1964: 173 births. 2,509 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. At its peak, it ranked 38th among girls' names in 1964. Fewer than ten births recorded from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 202* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Belgium | 82 | 2014–2023 | — |
| Berlin | 36 | 2012–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Statbel, first names of newborns, CC BY 4.0 (one total for the whole period, no yearly breakdown); Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
3
expression, creativity, sociability
6 + 9 + 1 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 1 = 30 → 3
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
6
responsibility, harmony, commitment to others
1 + 5 = 6
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
6
responsibility, harmony, commitment to others
6 + 9 + 5 + 3 + 1 = 24 → 6
- Digits missing from the name
- 2, 4, 7, 8
- Most frequent digit
- 1 · initiative, independence, beginnings
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.