Franco

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Italian

The name is a contracted form of Francesco and is commonly used as an independent given name, especially in among the Italian diaspora. It is currently the 8th most popular male name in Argentine, (2009), the 33rd most popular in Chile (2010) and the 838th most popular in the United States, (2010).

The name was in fact banned from usage in Argentina until recently due to its negative associations with the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

A feminine form is Franca.