Francesco

Francesco comes from the Late Latin Franciscus, meaning Frenchman. Its spread is owed to Saint Francis of Assisi, who was baptised Giovanni but called Francesco by his father, a cloth merchant who traded in France. Francis founded the Franciscan order and is the patron saint of Italy, and his name passed into every Catholic country. The poet Francesco Petrarca, known in English as Petrarch, shaped the sonnet form, and the painter Francesco Guardi recorded the canals of Venice. Pope Francis took the papal name in honour of the saint. Other forms include Francis, Francisco, François and Franz.