While that which we call a rose would smell as sweet if it were not called a rose, how about a Frances? Ever wonder what a name means or how it came about?
     Frances is the feminine form of the name that came from the Latin Franciscus. It means either from France, Frankish, or free one. It comes from the name that the Romans gave to the folks that were residing in the area we now know as France. How did they decide on what to call them? Simple, the Romans named the people after the small axes they carried in battle, the francisca.
     The name has been in use for centuries, and while particularly popular in the late Middle Ages, it had fallen in popularity until a resurgence in the 20th century. Some attribute the renewed popularity to the movie “Dirty Dancing”, where the main female character, “Baby” (who is never to be put in a corner) was actually named Frances. It has been in the top 1000 girl’s names since the 1880’s, even cracking the top 100 girls names in the 1910s. Frances currently ranks #405.
     There have been a lot of famous actresses named Frances, including Frances McDormand (the movie “Fargo”), Frances Fisher (the snotty mother in “Titanic”), Frances Sternhagen (prolific character actress who was in just about everything, and of course, Frances Bavier (Aunt Bea from “The Andy Griffith Show”).

     While that which we call a rose would smell as sweet if it were not called a rose, how about a Thomas? Ever wonder what a name means or how it came about?
     There is a bit of s split decision on where the name comes from. Some attribute it to an ancient Aramaic word, meaning twin. The other contender is the Hebrew word meaning twin.
     Thomas has been a strong and popular for boys pretty consistently down the centuries. It is currently the 45th most popular boys name in the United States. It also ranks highly in both Great Brittain and France!
     Thomas was one of the original 12 apostles and known as the one that doubted the resurrection until he saw the wounds.           More recent famous Thomases include our third President, Thomas Jefferson, the inventor Thomas Alva Edison, and even Thomas Stearns Eliot (better known by his initials T.S.). Two of my personal favorite Thomases come from the Court of King Henry VIII of England – Sir Thomas More, author of “Utopia” and reluctant Chancellor of England under Henry VIII. His immediate predecessor was also a Thomas, Thomas Wolsey. Both lost their lives in Henry’s pursuit of a divorce from his first wife. Of course, things didn’t end all that well for the second Mrs. Henry VIII either.