Name of France
French franc coin (1360) of Charles V, with inscription Francorum Rex ("King of the Franks") | |
| Romanisation | Francia |
|---|---|
| Language | French |
| Origin | |
| Language | Developed from the settlement of Romanized Franks in Île-de-France. |
| Word/name | Due to the influence of Paris as capital of France, its Romance language gradually spread over the whole country as a standard language, especially after the French Revolution. Prior to then different Romance languages were spoken in the countryside as well as pockets of foreign language, such as Basque in Aquitania, Alsatian German in Alsatia, and Celtic in Brittany. |
| Meaning | The country of the Franks |
| Region of origin | Western Europe |
| Other names | |
| Anglicisation | France |
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), which means "Frank Reich", the Realm of the Franks.