Irish with Francis surname?

Question:

Irish with Francis surname?

my last name is Francis... my partents allways told me we where Irish... but wherever i look i can only find francis' coming from england... does anybody out there know anymore about this stuff then me... it doesn't make sense...

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It makes plenty of sense.

First, many surnames are common in Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales. Just knowing a surname doesn't really allow you to place it within the British Isles.

Second, Ireland was (and part of it still is) an English colony for hundreds of years, with many people moving both ways. Plenty of Irish lived in England, and plenty of English moved to (and were settled in) Ireland.

Third, many Irish emigrants actually left from English ports, so a born-and-bred Irishman may have left the old world (and be listed as arriving from) Liverpool or London even if they didn't actually live there.

Fourth, depending on what you are looking at, you may well just be missing FRANCIS emigrants.

Fifth, family traditions are often wrong, even regarding ethnic origins - while if your family says you are Irish, you probably are (since it's a fairly common heritage and the Irish didn't really start coming to the U.S. until the mid 19th century, which is fairly recently), there are many traditions that are just bunk. One notorious example is Native American ancestry - You'll see tons of people talking about their 'Cherokee' or 'Blackfoot' heritage, but very little of this has any basis in fact and a lot to do with romantic (and frankly somewhat offensive) ideas of the noble Indian, cultural expropriation, and 'trendy' ancestry.