Show ContentsFrancois History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

France is naturally the ancestral homeland of the prestigious surname Francois. This surname was originally a nickname, which was a type of hereditary surname, for someone from the country of France. Although it began as a name, the name gained much popularity as a patronymic in the Middle Ages due to the popularity of St. Francis of Assisi.

Early Origins of the Francois family

The surname Francois was first found in Poitou, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Francois family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Francois research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1582, 1614, 1618, 1685, 1716, 1725 and 1808 are included under the topic Early Francois History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Francois Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Lefrançois, François, Français, Lefrançais, Françoise and many more.

Early Notables of the Francois family

Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Francois Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Francois World Ranking

In the United States, the name Francois is the 3,296th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Francois is ranked the 970th most popular surname. 2 And in France, the name Francois is the 29th popular surname with an estimated 50,612 people with that name. 3


United States Francois migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Francois Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Alex François, who was living in Biloxi, Louisiana, in 1700
  • James Francois, who landed in Virginia in 1706 4
  • Thomas Francois, who arrived in America in 1764 4
Francois Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Nicholas Francois, aged 35, who landed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1832 4
  • Wagner Francois, aged 42, who landed in Missouri in 1842 4
  • Lath Francois, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 4

Canada Francois migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Francois Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Mr. Pierre François, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 27th March 1665 5
  • Mr. Pierre François, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 12th April 1667 5
  • Pierre Francois, aged 33, who landed in Quebec in 1667
  • Claude François called Brother Luc, who left Paris in 1670 and settled in New France where member of the construction of the Hôpital-Général chapel, the oldest chapel in Canada and which is still standing today
Francois Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Pierre-Francois Francois, who landed in Canada in 1766

New Zealand Francois migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Francois Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Cheodore Francois, aged 35, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of The Age" in 1874
  • Valentine Francois, aged 23, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of The Age" in 1874

Contemporary Notables of the name Francois (post 1700) +

  • Robert St. Francois, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Nashua 6th Ward; Elected 1938 6
  • Arnail François, Marquis de Jaucourt, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 7
  • Julien François (b. 1979), French footballer
  • André François (1915-2005), born André Farkas, was a Hungarian-born French cartoonist
  • Claude Antoine Marie François (1939-1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer
  • Samson François (1924-1970), French pianist, a graduate of the Nice conservatoire (1935) and the Paris conservatoire (1940), the author of "Cinquième Concerto" (1947)
  • Joseph Pascal François, Governor General of various French Colonies in the late 1800's
  • Tony François (b. 1971), Mauritian international footballer
  • Abraham Francois (b. 1977), Canadian soccer player
  • Christiano François (b. 1992), Haitian footballer
  • ... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
  3. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  4. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  5. Debien, Gabriel. Liste Des Engagés Pour Le Canada Au XVIIe Siècle. Vol. 6, Laval University, 1952. (Retreived 24th May 2018). Retrieved from https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/130-liste-des-contrats-dengagement-pour-la-nouvelle-france-releves-a-la-rochelle-entre-1634-et-1679/
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  7. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 13) Arnail François. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html


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