Self-reported ancestry of members supports this evidence. Most members are from North America, with a few Australians, Europeans and others. Among these, by far, the largest group reports British -- usually English or Welsh ancestry, although this varies somewhat among the different surnames. The English derivation of the name, combined with an 1891 census showing the distribution of the Francis surname in Great Britain supports this, showing the two largest clusters in Wales around Glamorgan and East England from London extending eastward. British ancestry is not universal among Francises, however. One individual reports descent from a Portuguese named Francisco, who changed his name to Francis; another believes he is descended from a child of German extraction who was adopted by a Francis family; and one claims French ancestry. Others, as mentioned above, show evidence of Jewish or African ancestry.
Among individuals surnamed France, the picture is less clear. According to a genealogist working with one branch of the France line, that particular line is descended from a Swiss individual named Frantz, but has the haplogroup of E1b1b2. Another line is of the R1b1b2a1b5b subgroup of R1b1b2, indicating that he may be related to the Great Northern Irish king, Niall of the Nine Hostages, and possibly of Scots-Irish descent. A third France line has not provided an ancestry but comes from a branch of I2b that is common in Great Britain.
Not surprisingly, both Francoises in the study claim French ancestry. The French in the study claims Irish descent, while the Franciscos do not indicate ancestry, but are probably of Spanish, Italian or Portuguese ancestry.