Francesca is an Italian female given name, derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

male name '' Franciscus'' meaning 'the Frenchman' It is widely used in most

Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language f ...

, including Italian,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

, and place of origin is

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is derived from the same source as the female name ''

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.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "French ...

'', and the male names '' Francesc'', '' Francesco'' and ''

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

''.

People named Francesca

Daniel Francesca Daniel Francesca (born December 27, 1993), better known as dafran, is a Danish Twitch video game streamer and former professional ''Overwatch'' player. As an esports competitor, Francesca represented Selfless Gaming before being suspended from ...

, Danish esports player *

Francesca Alderisi Francesca Alderisi (born 29 March 1968) is an Italian politician and television presenter. Since 2018, she has been a Senator from Forza Italia representing North and Central America. Biography Born in Treviso of Campania parents, she grew up ...

, Italian television presenter and politician *

Francesca Allinson Francesca Allinson (born Enid Ellen Pulvermacher Allinson; 20 August 1902 – 7 April 1945) was an English writer, musician and puppeteer. She was the youngest child of the pioneering physician and wholemeal bread entrepreneur Dr Thomas All ...

, English author and musician *

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in ''Reckless'' (1998), '' Wives and Daughters'' (1999), '' Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 19 ...

, British actress * Julia Francesca Barretto, Filipino actress *

Francesca Battistelli Francesca Battistelli (born May 18, 1985) is an American contemporary Christian music, Christian singer and songwriter. She was originally an independent artist and had released an independent album, ''Just a Breath'', in 2004. Her first studio ...

, American Christian musician * Francesca Beard, Malaysian performance poet *

Francesca Caccini Francesca Caccini (; 18 September 1587 – after 1641) was an Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. She was also known by the nickname "La Cecchina" , given to her by the Florentines and probably ...

, Italian composer and singer of the early Baroque *

Francesca Anna Canfield Francesca Anna Canfield (, Pascalis; pen name, Salonina; August 1803 – May 23, 1833) was a 19th-century American linguist, poet, and translator. In writing, she seemed to have been constantly under the influence of the advice thus given to Pinda ...

, American poet and translator *

Francesca Capaldi Francesca Angelucci Capaldi (born June 8, 2004) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Chloe James on the Disney Channel original sitcom '' Dog With A Blog'' (2012–2015) and as Nellie Chambers in the Brat TV web s ...

, American child actress *

Francesca Cumani Francesca Cumani is a horse racing presenter working for ITV Racing and 10 Sport. Education Cumani was educated at Tudor Hall School, a boarding and day independent school for girls, between the village of Bloxham and the market town of Ba ...

, English racing presenter for ITV *

Francesca Cuzzoni Francesca Cuzzoni (2 April 1696 – 19 June 1778) was an Italian operatic soprano of the Baroque era. Early career Cuzzoni was born in Parma. Her father, Angelo, was a professional violinist, and her singing teacher was Francesco Lanzi. She m ...

, Italian operatic soprano *

Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was a medieval noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a c ...

, 13th-century Italian adulterer *

Francesca Dani Francesca Dani, sometimes referred to as Francesca Aurora Dani, (born 5 March 1979 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy) is an Italian travel photographer, and a former cosplayer, net idol model and jewelry designer. Cosplay and modeling career Dani ...

, Italian cosplay model * Francesca Gagnon, Canadian singer and performer for

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 ...

Francesca Galli Francesca Galli (born 5 July 1960 in Desio, Monza) is a retired racing cyclist from Italy. She was 7th in the World rad race in 1979 and 4th in the following year. Her biggest achievement was winning the world title in the women's team time trial ...

, Italian road racing cyclist * Francesca Hayward, English ballerina * Francesca Le, American pornographic actress *

Francesca Lia Block Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature. She is known for the ''Weetzie Bat'' series, which she began while a student at UC Berkeley. Early life Block was born in Los Angeles to a p ...

, American author of the

Weetzie Bat ''Weetzie Bat'' is the debut novel of Francesca Lia Block, published by HarperCollins in 1989. It inaugurated her ''Dangerous Angels'' series for young adults. The narrative follows the adventures of the eponymous character Weetzie and her best ...

series *

Francesca Lubiani Francesca Lubiani (born 12 July 1977) is a former professional tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player u ...

, Italian tennis player *

Francesca Martinez Francesca Martinez (born 1978) is an English comedian, writer and actress. She has cerebral palsy, but prefers to describe herself as "wobbly". Martinez first came to public attention in 1994, when she made her debut on the television series ' ...

, British comedian * Francesca Petitjean, French former bodybuilder and pornographic actress * Francesca Piccinini, Italian volleyball player * Francesca Salvalajo, Italian backstroke swimmer * Francesa Sarah of Safed, 16th-century Jewish mystic *

Francesca Schiavone Francesca Schiavone (; born 23 June 1980) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1998 and won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She w ...

, Italian tennis player * Francesca Semoso, Papuan politician and broadcaster from Bougainville *

Francesca Simon Francesca Isabella Simon (born 23 February, 1955) is an American-born British author who resides in North London. She is most famous for writing the ''Horrid Henry'' series of children's books. She is the daughter of screenwriter and playwright ...

, American author of the

Horrid Henry ''Horrid Henry'' is a children's book series by Francesca Simon and illustrated by Tony Ross. It has been adapted for television, film and theatre. Horrid Henry is set in the United Kingdom in 1994. Books The first ''Horrid Henry'' book was ...

series * Francesca Stavrakopoulou, British theologian and broadcaster *

Francesca Velicu Francesca Velicu is a Romanian ballet dancer. She is a junior soloist at the English National Ballet. In 2018, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Early life Velicu was born in Bucharest, Romania. She trained ...

, Romanian ballet dancer * Francesca Woodman, American photographer *

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca ...

, Italian painter * Francheska Yarbusova, Russian artist and wife of director Yuriy

Fictional characters

*Francesca, a character from the Rankin/Bass classic '' Mad Monster Party'' *Francesca ("Frankie"), the eponymous main character from Melina Marchetta's ''Saving Francesca'' *Francesca Lucchini, a character from the anime/manga series ''

Strike Witches is a Japanese media mix originally created by Fumikane Shimada via a series of magazine illustration columns. The franchise has since been adapted into several light novel, manga, and anime series and various video games. ...

'' *Francesca, a character from the series by Lauren Kate: '' Fallen'' *Francesca or Franky, a character from ''

Freaky Green Eyes ''Freaky Green Eyes'' (2003) is the third young adult fiction novel written by Joyce Carol Oates. The story follows the life of 15-year-old Francesca "Franky" Pierson as she reflects on the events leading to her mother's mysterious disappearance. ...

'' *Francesca da Rimini or da Polenta, a character from Dante's ''Inferno'' *

Francesca Russo Francesca Russo (born November 27, 1995) is an American fencer. She qualified to represent Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, competing as part of the Women's Sabre team. Raised in Wayne, New Jersey, Russo attended Wayne Valley High Sc ...

, a character from '' The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex'' *Francesca Caviglia, a character from '' Violetta'' *Francesca Hollingsworth (Frankie), a character from the Degrassi franchise *Francesca Danelli, a character from

Bride of Re-Animator ''Bride of Re-Animator'' is a 1990 American comedy horror film produced and directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Yuzna, Rick Fry, and Woody Keith. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Re-Animator'' and the second entry in the Re-Animator (film ser ...

movie (1989) *Francesca "Cesca" Montoya, a character from '' Waterloo Road'' *Francesca Moretti, a character from Argentina, tierra de amor y venganza *Francesca Johson, a character from

The Bridges of Madison County ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (also published as ''Love in Black and White'') is a 1992 best-selling romance novel by American writer Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married Italian-American woman ( WWII war bride) living on ...

Translations

* al, Françeska * eu, Frantziska * br, Franseza * (''Fúlǎngxīsīkǎ''), 弗朗西斯 (''Fúlǎngxīsī'') or 弗朗切斯卡 (''Fúlǎngqièsīkǎ'') * hr, Frančeska * cs, Františka *french:

Françoise Françoise () is a French feminine given name (equivalent to the Italian Francesca) and may refer to: * Anne Françoise Elizabeth Lange (1772–1816), French actress * Claudine Françoise Mignot (1624–1711), French adventuress * Françoise Adnet ...

*german: Franziska * el, Φραγκίσκη (''Frangískī'') or less originally Greek versions Φραντζέσκα (''Frantzéska'') and Φραντσέσκα (''Frantséska'') * hu, Franciska * is, Fransiska * it, Francesca * ja, フランチェスカ (''Furanchesuka'') * ko, 프란체스카 (''Peulancheseuka'') * nah, Francisca (shortened ''Pancha'') * pl,

Franciszka Franciszka () is a Polish given name, related to English Frances. Notable people with the name include: * Franciszka Arnsztajnowa (1865–1942), Polish poet of Jewish descent * Franciszka Ksawera Brzozowska (1807–1872), Polish noble lady * Fran ...

* pt, Francisca *russian: Франческа (''Frančeska'') * sl, Frančiška * es, Francisca (shortened ''Paca'' or ''Pancha'') *Maltese: Frangiska (shortened ''Cikka'')

References

{{Reflist Italian feminine given names

People named Francesca

Fictional characters

Translations

See also

References