A Spanish, Portuguese and Italian surname, Franco comes from the term ‘frank’ which goes back to the 4th century Germanic tribe of invading Franks into what is present-day France. The spelling variations for Franco include Francia, Franci, Franazesi and Francica. Many Franco families from Spain and Portugal resettled in the 19th century in Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Paraguay. In England there are a few location with the Franco name, mostly in the city of London, in Sussex and Warwickshire. In Scotland the main county where there are individuals with the Franco name is Lanarkshire. Within the United States the Franco families originated in Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, New York, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Famous: Manuel Franco (President of Paraguay), Larry J. Franco (movie film producer), John Franco (professional baseball player), James Edward Franco (actor, director and producer of films), Daniel Franco (fashion designer), Guillermo Franco (footballer from Argentina), Hernando Franco (music composer from Spain), Rodolfo Franco (artist from Argentina), Jose Franco (poet from Panama), Matt Franco (professional baseball player) and Francisco Franco (military and political dictator of Spain from 1936 to 1975).