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((Short description|Country name etymology))
((More citations needed|date=September 2014))
The name [[France]] comes from [[Latin]] ''[[Francia]]'' ("land of the [[Franks]]").

Originally it applied to the whole [[Empire of the Franks]], extending from southern France to eastern [[Germany]]. Modern France is still called ''[[Frankreich]]'' in German and similar names in some other Germanic languages (such as  ''Frankrijk'' in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]), which means "Frank [[Reich]]", the Realm of the Franks.

==Background==

===Gallia and Gaul===
((See also|Gaul))
[[Image:Cesare prima Gallia 58 a.C.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Celts|Celtic]] [[Gallia]] and [[Roman republic]] in 58 BC]]

Before being named France, the land was called [[Gaul]] (((lang-la|Gallia)); ((lang-fr|Gaule))). This name continued to be used even after the beginning of the reign of the Franks' Kings [[Clovis I]], [[Charles Martel]], [[Pepin the Short]], and [[Charlemagne]]. In fact, for as long as the cultural elites of Europe used Latin predominantly, the name ''Gallia'' continued to be used alongside the name France. In English usage, the words Gaul and Gaulish are used synonymously with Latin Gallia, Gallus and Gallicus. However the similarity of the names is probably coincidental; the English words are borrowed from French Gaule and Gaulois, which appear to have been borrowed themselves from Germanic [[Walhaz|walha-]], the usual word for the non-Germanic-speaking peoples (Celtic-speaking and Latin-speaking indiscriminately) and the source for ''Welsh'' in English. The Germanic w is regularly rendered as gu / g in French (cf. guerre = war, garder = ward, Guillaume = William), and the diphthong au is the regular outcome of al before a following consonant (cf. cheval ~ chevaux). Gaule or Gaulle can hardly be derived from Latin Gallia, since g would become j before a (cf. gamba > jambe), and the diphthong au would be incomprehensible; the regular outcome of Latin Gallia would have been * Jaille in French.<ref>''[[Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology]]'' (OUP 1966), p. 391.</ref><ref name = "Larouße">''Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique et historique'' (Larousse 1990), p. 336.</ref>

Today, in modern [[French language|French]], the word ''Gaule'' is only used in a historical context. The only current use of the word is in the title of the leader of the French bishops, the [[archbishop of Lyon]], whose official title is [[primate (bishop)|Primate]] of the Gauls (''Primat des Gaules''). Gaul is in the plural in the title, reflecting the three Gallic entities identified by the Romans (''[[Gaul|Celtica]]'', ''[[Gallia Belgica|Belgica]]'', and ''[[Gascony#History|Aquitania]]''). The adjective ''gaulois'' (Gallic) is still sometimes used when a French person wants to stress some idiosyncrasies of the French people entrenched in history, such as ''nos ancêtres les Gaulois'' ("our ancestors the Gauls"), a phrase sometimes used in French when one wants to assert his own identity. During the [[Third French Republic|Third Republic]], the authorities often referred to ''notre vieille nation gauloise'' ("our old Gallic nation"), a case in which the adjective ''gaulois'' is used with a positive connotation. The word ''[[gallicism]]e'' is used sometimes in linguistic to express a specific form to the French language. In English, the word Gaul is never used in a modern context. The adjective Gallic is sometimes used to refer to French people, occasionally in a derisive and critical way, such as "Gallic pride". The ''[[Coq Gaulois]]'' (''Gallic rooster'' in English) is also a national symbol of France, as for the [[French Football Federation]]. ''Astérix le Gaulois'' ([[Asterix|Asterix, the Gaul]]) is a popular series of [[French comics|French comic books]], following the exploits of a village of indomitable Gauls.

In [[Greek language|Greek]], France is still known as ((lang|el|Γαλλία)) (''Gallia''). In Breton, meanwhile, the word ((lang|br|Gall)) means "French",<ref name=Henriette/><ref name=Chevalier/> and France is ((lang|br|Bro C'hall))<ref>Conroy, Joseph, and Joseph F. Conroy. ''Breton-English/English-Breton: dictionary and phrasebook''. Hippocrene Books, 1997. Page 38.</ref>  through Breton initial mutation; the second most common family name in Brittany is ''Le Gall'', which is thought to indicate descendants of the inhabitants of Armorica from before the Bretons came from Britain, literally meaning "the Gaul".<ref name=Favereau>Favereau, Francis (2006). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4073206 "Homophony and Breton Loss of Lexis"]. Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, 2006/2007, Vol. 26/27 (2006/2007), pp. 306-316. Page 311.</ref> The word can be used to refer to the French nationality, speakers of French and/or Gallo; an archaic word sense also indicated the generic "foreigner";<ref name=Henriette>((cite web|last1=Walter|first1=Henriette|title=Les langues régionales de France : le gallo, pris comme dans un étau (17/20)|url=http://www.canalacademie.com/ida6813-Les-langues-regionales-de-France-le-gallo-pris-comme-dans-un-etau.html|website=www.canalacademie.com|date=9 October 2011 |publisher=Canal Académie))</ref><ref name="Chevalier">((Citation |last=Chevalier |first=Gwendal |title=Gallo et Breton, complémentarité ou concurrence? |date=2008 |url=https://hal-univ-lyon3.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00369542 |journal=Cahiers de sociolinguistique |issue=12 |pages=75–109 |doi=10.3917/csl.0701.0075 |trans-title=Gallo and Breton, complementarity or competition? |language=fr |access-date=2018-10-09))</ref> the derivative ''galleg'' means "French" as an adjective and the French language as a noun. In Irish, meanwhile, the term ''gall'' originally also referred to the inhabitants of Gaul, but in the ninth century it was repurposed as "generic foreigner" and used to refer to Scandinavian invaders; it was used later in the twelfth century for the Anglo-Normans.<ref>((Cite book |title=The Medieval World|author1-link=Peter Linehan |last=Linehan |first=Peter |author2=Janet L. Nelson |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-30234-0 |volume=10 |page=393 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReIdkk5pEMsC&pg=PA393 ))</ref>

===Francia===
((main|Name of the Franks))
((See also|Francia))
[[File:Charles V France franc pied 73001141.jpg|thumb|250px|[[French franc]] coin (1360) of [[Charles V of France|Charles V]], with inscription ''Francorum Rex'' ("King of the Franks")]]
[[Image:Clovis 1er.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Burial of [[Clovis I]], King of the Franks, at the [[Basilica of St Denis]] near Paris]]

Under the reign of the [[Franks]]' Kings [[Clovis I]], [[Charles Martel]], [[Pepin the Short]], and [[Charlemagne]], a country that included most of modern France and modern [[Germany]] was known as [[Kingdom of Franks]] or [[Francia]]. At the [[Treaty of Verdun]] in 843, the Frankish Empire was divided in three parts: [[West Francia]] (''Francia Occidentalis''), [[Middle Francia]] and [[East Francia]] (''Francia Orientalis'').

The rulers of ''Francia Orientalis'', who soon claimed the imperial title and wanted to reunify the Frankish Empire, dropped the name ''Francia Orientalis'' and called their realm the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (see [[History of Germany]]). The history of the Franconian Empire lives on today in place names such as [[Frankfurt]] or [[Franconia]] (''Franken'' in German). The kings of ''Francia Occidentalis'' successfully opposed this claim and managed to preserve ''Francia Occidentalis'' as an independent kingdom, distinct from the Holy Roman Empire.

Since the name ''Francia Orientalis'' had disappeared, there arose the habit to refer to ''Francia Occidentalis'' as ''Francia'' only, from which the word France is derived. The French state has been in continuous existence since 843 (except for a brief interruption in 885–887), with an unbroken line of heads of states since the first king of ''Francia Occidentalis'' ([[Charles the Bald]]) to the current president of the French Republic ([[Emmanuel Macron]]). Notably, in [[German language|German]], France is still called ''Frankreich'', which literally means "''[[Reich]]'' (empire) of the Franks". In order to distinguish it from the Frankish Empire of [[Charlemagne]], France is called ''Frankreich'', while the Frankish Empire is called ''Frankenreich''.

The [[name of the Franks]] itself is said to come from the [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] word *''frankon'' which means "[[javelin]], [[lance]]". Another proposed etymology is that Frank means "the free men", based on the fact that the word ''frank'' meant "free" in the ancient Germanic languages. However, rather than the ethnic name of the Franks coming from the word ''frank'' ("free"), it is more probable that the word ''frank'' ("free") comes from the ethnic name of the Franks, the connection being that only the Franks, as the conquering class, had the status of freemen.

In a tradition going back to the 7th-century [[Chronicle of Fredegar]], the [[name of the Franks]] itself is taken from ''Francio'', one of the Germanic kings of [[Sicambri]], c. 61 BCE, whose dominion extended all along those lands immediately joining the west-bank of the [[Rhine River]], as far as [[Strasbourg]] and Belgium.<ref>[[David Gans|David Solomon Ganz]], ''Tzemach David'', part 2, Warsaw 1859, p. 9b (Hebrew); Polish name of book: ''Cemach Dawid''; cf. J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, ''Fredegar and the History of France'', University of Manchester, n.d. pp. 536–538</ref> This nation is also explicitly mentioned by [[Julius Caesar]] in his ''Notebooks on the [[Gallic War]]'' (''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'').

The name of the former French currency, the [[French franc|franc]], comes from the words engraved on the coins of the Frankish King, ''Rex Francorum'', meaning "King of the Franks" or "Roi des Francs" in French.

===France===
((See also|France))
In most of the [[Romance languages]], France is known by the word "France" or any of its derivatives, for example ''Francia'' in Italian and Spanish. This is also the origin of its name in English, "France", which derived from Old French.

In most of the [[Germanic languages]] (though notably not in English), France is known as the historical "Land of the Franks", for example ''Frankreich'' ([[Reich]] of the Franks) in German, ''Frankrijk'' ([[Rijk]] of the Franks) in Dutch, ''Frankrike'' ([[Reich#In_Scandinavian_languages|Rike]] of the Franks) in Swedish and Norwegian, ''Frankrig'' in Danish.

==Meanings of the name France==
The name "France" (and its adjective "French") can have four different meanings which it is important to distinguish in order to avoid ambiguities. Its origin is the Germanic word "frank" which means "free" and is also a male name.

===Political meaning===
In a first meaning, "France" means the whole French Republic. In that case, "French" refers to the nationality, as it is written on the French ID card: "Nationalité : française".

The etymology and meaning of the word "France" and "French" have had strong bearings in the [[Timeline of abolition of slavery and serfdom|abolition of slavery and serfdom]] in France.

Indeed, in 1315, king [[Louis X of France|Louis X]] issued an edict reaffirming that [[slavery]] was illegal in France by proclaiming that "France signifies freedom", that any slave setting foot on (metropolitan) French ground should be freed.<ref>((cite book|last=Miller |first=Christopher L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=480BBURkreYC&pg=PA122 |title=The French Atlantic triangle: literature and culture of the slave trade |date=11 January 2008 |page=20 |isbn=978-0-8223-4151-2 |access-date=2013-08-28))</ref>

Centuries later, this decree served as the basis for a group of crusading lawyers at the [[parlement]] of Paris, many of whom were members of the [[Society of the Friends of the Blacks]], winning unprecedented emancipation rights in a series of cases before the [[French Revolution]], which (temporarily) led to the complete abolition of slavery on French overseas territories and colonies in 1794 <ref>David B. Gaspar, David P. Geggus, ''A Turbulent time: the French Revolution and the Greater Caribbean'' (1997) p. 60</ref> until [[Napoleon]], propped up by the plantation lobbies, re-introduced slavery in sugarcane-growing colonies.<ref name="chronology">Hobhouse, Henry. ''Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind'', 2005. Page 111.</ref>

===Geographical meaning===
In a second meaning, "France" refers to [[metropolitan France]] only, meaning mainland France.

===Historical meanings===
In a third meaning, "France" refers specifically to the [[provinces of France|province]] of the [[Île-de-France]] (with [[Paris]] at its centre) which historically was the heart of the royal demesne. This meaning is found in some geographic names, such as French Brie (''Brie française'') and [[French Vexin]] (''Vexin français''). French Brie, the area where the famous [[Brie cheese]] is produced, is the part of [[Brie (region)|Brie]] that was annexed to the royal demesne, as opposed to Champagne Brie (''Brie champenoise'') which was annexed by [[Champagne (province)|Champagne]]. Likewise, French Vexin was the part of [[Vexin]] inside Île-de-France, as opposed to [[Norman Vexin]] (''Vexin normand'') which was inside [[Normandy]].

In a fourth meaning, "France" refers only to the ''[[Pays de France]]'', one of the several ''pays'' (Latin: ''pagi'', singular ''pagus'') of the Île-de-France. French provinces were typically made up of multiple ''pays'', which were the direct continuation of the ''pagi'' set up by the Roman administration during [[Classical antiquity|Antiquity]]. The Île-de-France included the ''Pays de France'', Parisis, Hurepoix, French Vexin, and others. The ''Pays de France'' is the fertile plain located immediately north of Paris which supported one of the most productive agriculture during the [[Middle Ages]] and helped to produce the tremendous wealth of the French royal court before the Hundred Years' War, making possible among other things the emergence of the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] art and architecture, which later spread all over western Europe((fact|date=August 2021)). The ''Pays de France'' is also called the ''Plaine de France'' ("Plain of France"). Its historic main town is [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]], where the first Gothic cathedral in the world was built in the 12th century, and inside which the kings of France are buried. The ''Pays de France'' is now almost entirely built up as the northern extension of the Paris suburbs.

This fourth meaning is found in many place names, such as the town of [[Roissy-en-France]], on whose territory is located [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]]. The name of the town literally means "Roissy in the ''Pays de France''", and not "Roissy in the country France". Another example of the use of France in this meaning is the new ''[[Stade de France]]'', which was built near Saint-Denis for the [[Football World Cup 1998|1998 Football World Cup]]. It was decided to call the stadium after the ''Pays de France'', to give it a local touch. In particular, the mayor of Saint-Denis made it very clear that he wanted the new stadium to be a stadium of the northern suburbs of Paris and not just a national stadium which happens to be located in the northern suburbs. The name is intended to reflect this, although few French people know this story and the great majority associates it with the country's name((fact|date=August 2021)).

==Other names for France==
In [[Hebrew Language|Hebrew]], France is called ((lang|he|צרפת)) ([[Tzarfat]]). In [[Māori language|Māori]], France is known as ((lang|mi|Wīwī)), derived from the French phrase ''oui, oui'' (yes, yes).<ref>Matras Y., Sakel J. ''Grammatical Borrowing In A Cross-Linguistic Perspective''. 2007 p. 322.</ref>. In modern [[Greek language|Greek]], France is still known as ((lang|el|Γαλλία)) (Gallia), derived from ''Gaul''.

== See also ==
* [[List of country-name etymologies]]

==References==
((reflist))
((Europe topic|Name of|title=Names of European states and territories))

[[Category:Country name etymology|France]]
[[Category:History of France]]

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