The surname French
A surname, carried by 63,991 people in the United States.
Pronounced /fɹɛnt͡ʃ/ 1 syllable Soundex F652
Origin
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”).
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 63,991 people named French in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 4,825 Americans. That is up 1.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 63,149.
Who is named French
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
86% of people named French identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.1% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- White (not Hispanic) 86%
- Black (not Hispanic) 8.1%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
- Two or more races 1.9%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 1.1%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
Famous Frenchs
29 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Dawn FrenchBritish actress, comedian and writer (born 1957)
- John French, 1st Earl of YpresAnglo-Irish officer in the British Army (1852-1925)
- Daniel Chester FrenchAmerican sculptor (1850–1931)
- Tana FrenchAmerican-Irish writer and theatrical actress, born 1973
- Victor FrenchAmerican actor and director (1934–1989)
- Kate FrenchAmerican actress and model, born 1984
- Valerie FrenchBritish actress (1928-1990)
- Charles K. FrenchAmerican actor (1860-1952)
- Bruce FrenchAmerican actor (1945–2025)
- Kenneth FrenchAmerican economist, born 1954
- Augustus C. FrenchAmerican politician (1808-1864)
- Harold FrenchBritish actor and film director (1897–1997)
Notable Frenchs come mostly from the United States (23), the United Kingdom (3) and Australia (2).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
French has the Soundex code F652, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F652.
Questions
- Where does the surname French come from?
- 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…
- How common is the surname French?
- 63,991 people in the United States had the surname French in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,825 Americans. It ranked 525th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname French?
- In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named French identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.1% as Black (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named French?
- Dawn French, British actress, comedian and writer (born 1957), followed by John French, 1st Earl of Ypres.
- Where is the surname French most common?
- Wikidata records people named French in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.
- How do you pronounce French?
- French is /fɹɛnt͡ʃ/, one syllable.
- Is the surname French getting more or less common?
- More common. 63,149 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 63,991 in 2010, up 1.3%.