Can the spelling "Francis" be unisex?

[HopefulEm]

Particularly for a middle name, does it matter? Would it bother you if a girl had the name Francis instead of Frances?

 

[Tanikins]

It wouldnt bother me if you spelt it that way no. However i wouldnt spell it 'is'

 

[hanni]

I don't think it's too masculine. I love it for a girl!

 

[staralfur]

I think both spellings are pretty interchangeable as far as gender goes. I wouldn't assume that Francis was a boy and I wouldn't assume that Frances was a girl.

 

[lau86]

To me Francis is a boy and Frances is a girl.

 

[LoraLoo]

As above ^^

 

[AndiTTC]

I agree with lau86. Is there a reason that you want to spell the name with '-is' instead of '-es'?

 

[Buttercup84]

In the UK I think it's accepted that Francis is the male spelling and Frances the female, but if it was the opposite for a middle name i'd assume it was a family connection.

 

[wannabemomy37]

I think Francis is definitely interchangeable. I've actually never seen Frances. To me that looks odd.
I know a girl Grace Francis

 

[BunNtheOven]

I know a few boys and girls named francis. All the boys with the name francis refuse to go by their first name though and go by their middle name.

 

[o0oCharlieo0o]

One of my little girls middle names is Franciz because that is my step dads name and how he spells it, I think it can be for either a boy or girl

 

[swoo]

If it's for a first name, I just wouldn't bother with the 'is' spelling. I don't think there's anything wrong with it for a girl, but she will spend her entire life having to correct the spelling, as in the UK people will automatically spell it 'Frances'. Just think it would be quite annoying to live with. x

 

[CandiceSj]

To me Francis is exclusively male (though as a middle name, if it's a family name, I wouldn't think it was too weird). Frances would be the spelling for a female, though it's still a name that when heard, I'd assume is just Francis and a boy. Frances isn't the type of name that is feminine, nor is it edgy or trendy like some other "boy names that have become unisex" names can be.

 

[xx Emily xx]

My middle name is Frances and I hated people telling me that it's a boys name... Only explanation I could give growing up was that -es was a girl and -is was a boy. I'd have hated it if mine was spelt -is!!