Francis

Francis comes from the Latin Franciscus, meaning Frenchman, originally a nickname bestowed on the young Giovanni di Bernardone of Assisi by his cloth-merchant father, who traded across the Alps into France. That nickname became one of the most famous names in Christendom, carried by the saint of birds and wolves and by the current pontiff. At rank 450 in the U.S., Francis keeps a scholarly, slightly ecclesiastical air, softer than Frank, more formal than Frankie. Two syllables, a hush and a hiss, a name that sounds as right in a seminary as in a poetry workshop. Gentle, erudite, and quietly saintly.