What was F. Scott Fitzgerald's first given name at birth?

F. Scott Fitzgerald's first given name at birth was Francis.

He was born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. The name honored Francis Scott Key, the Maryland lawyer and poet who wrote the lyrics that became “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Fitzgerald was a distant relative of Key through his father's family.

Fitzgerald usually published under the abbreviated form F. Scott Fitzgerald, and friends often called him Scott. That familiar professional name can obscure the fact that Francis was his first given name. “Scott” was his middle name, while “Key” was an additional middle name reflecting the family connection.

Another possible source of confusion is Fitzgerald's daughter, Frances Scott Fitzgerald, whose first name is spelled with an e. The author himself used Francis, without the e. He was born in 1896, attended Princeton without earning a degree, and became one of the defining American writers of the Jazz Age.