Franco
Meaning of Franco
Franco—pronounced FRAN-koh, the rolled “r” flickering like a guitar string—springs from the medieval Latin Francus, “a Frank, a free man,” and has wandered from the sun-drenched hills of Tuscany to the jasmine-scented plazas of Andalucía before skipping the Atlantic to settle, still jaunty, in American nurseries where it currently hovers around rank 600. He is a name that smells faintly of leather-bound trattorias and freshly squeezed citrus, carrying in his pocket both chivalric ancestry (the Germanic Franks who lent the world the very word “frank”) and modern panache, thanks to cinematic maestros like Franco Zeffirelli and fleet-footed athletes such as Franco Baresi. Friendly humor trails him—after all, a boy called Franco is destined to be, quite literally, frank—yet beneath the sparkle lies a promise of liberty and loyalty, of a spirited soul who will grow as freely as the vines that climb Mediterranean stone.
Pronunciation
Italian
- Pronunced as FRAN-koh (/ˈfraŋ.ko/)
Spanish
- Pronunced as FRAN-koh (/ˈfɾaŋ.ko/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Franco
| Franco Baresi - Franchino Baresi is a legendary Italian defender who captained AC Milan to numerous titles and is celebrated as one of the greatest footballers of all time. |
| Franco Harris was an American football fullback who played 13 NFL seasons, primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and earned nine Pro Bowl selections. |
| Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli was an acclaimed Italian director renowned for his lavish opera and theatre productions and film adaptations of classical works. |
| Franco Modigliani was an Italian-American economist who won the 1985 Nobel Prize and taught at prestigious universities like MIT. |
| Italian actor Franco Nero rose to fame as the star of Django (1966), becoming a pop culture icon and building a career with over 200 roles. |
| Franco P. Preparata is the emeritus An Wang Professor of Computer Science at Brown University. |
| Franco Citti was an Italian actor celebrated for his collaboration with director Pier Paolo Pasolini, earning a BAFTA nomination for his role in "Accattone." |
| Franco Baldini is an Italian former professional footballer and ex-technical director for Tottenham Hotspur. |
| Franco Evangelisti was an Italian composer who explored the scientific theories of sound. |
| Franco Ezequiel Carboni is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a left-back or left midfielder for Empoli on loan from Inter Milan and has represented both Italy and Argentina at youth level. |
| Franco Ambrosetti is a Swiss jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer who recorded for Enja Records and collaborated with his father and George Gruntz. |
| Franco Migliacci - Francesco "Franco" Migliacci was an Italian lyricist, producer, and actor. |
| Franco Enrique Navarro Monteiro is a Peruvian football manager and former striker. |
| Franco Balmamion is an Italian former cyclist who won the Giro d'Italia consecutively in 1962 and 1963. |
