# French (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/french/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as an ethnonym.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 63,991 |
| US rank (2010) | 525 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 4,825 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.3% (63,149 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /fɹɛnt͡ʃ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Inherited from Middle English Frenche, Frensch, Frensc, Frenshe, Frenk, Franche, from Old English Frenċisċ (“Frankish, French”), from Proto-West Germanic *Frankisk (“Frankish”) cognates and miscellany Doublet of Frankish; piecewise doublet of Francis, Franz, and Francisco, which are derived from Late Latin Franciscus equivalent to Frank + -ish (compare Frankish). Cognate with Middle Low German vranksch, frenkisch, vrenkesch, vrenksch (“Frankish, French”), Middle High German vrenkisch, vrensch ("Frankish, Franconian; > German fränkisch (“Frankish, Franconian”)), Danish fransk (“French”), Swedish fransk, fransysk (“French”), Icelandic franska (“French”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named French in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 86% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 8.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named French in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named French

- Dawn French, British actress, comedian and writer (born 1957)
- John French, 1st Earl of Ypres, Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army (1852-1925)
- Daniel Chester French, American sculptor (1850–1931)
- Tana French, American-Irish writer and theatrical actress
- Victor French, American actor and director (1934–1989)
- Kate French, American actress and model
- Valerie French, British actress (1928-1990)
- Charles K. French, American actor (1860-1952)
- Bruce French, American actor (1945–2025)
- Kenneth French, American economist
- Augustus C. French, American politician (1808-1864)
- Harold French, British actor and film director (1897–1997)

and 17 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Franchi, Franco, France, Franck, Frenzel, Franceschi, Frenkel, Franca, Franklin, Francis, Frank, Franks.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.