Françoise, of French origin, is a feminine given name derived from the Latin "Francisca," which means "free" or "frank." It shares its root with the male name Francis and is often used interchangeably with the Italian Francesca. In France, Françoise has been a popular choice for girls since the Middle Ages, with notable historical figures such as Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon and Françoise Dolto bearing this name.
The name Françoise is typically pronounced /frɑ̃swaz/ in French, with the 's' sounding like an English 'z'. The spelling varies slightly depending on the language: Francesca in Italian, Francisca in Spanish, and Franciscka in Polish. In other languages such as German and Dutch, it may appear as Franziska or Fransje respectively.
In literature and arts, Françoise has been used by several authors as characters' names, such as in Gustave Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" and Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time." This reflects the name's enduring popularity and cultural significance in France. Today, Françoise remains a beloved and traditional choice for parents naming their daughters in French-speaking countries.
The name Francoise experienced a significant increase in popularity from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, with a peak of 22 births in 1963. However, it has since declined, with fewer than 10 births per year since the mid-1980s, and only five births each in 2021 and 2023. Overall, there were 620 births named Francoise from 1917 to 2023.