Britannia and the British Empire what Marianne is to France or perhaps what Columbia is to the United States. Britannia became a very potent and more common figure in times of war, and represented British liberties and democracy. During the 1990s the term "Cool Britannia" (drawn from a humorous version by the Bonzo Dog Band of the song "Rule Britannia", with words by James Thomson [1700–1748], which is often used as an unofficial national anthem), was used to describe the contemporary United Kingdom. The phrase referred to the fashionable scenes of the era, with a new generation of pop groups and
Name of France the Franks) in German, "Frankrijk" (Rijk of the Franks) in Dutch, "Frankrike" (Rike of the Franks) in Swedish and Norwegian, "Frankrig" in Danish. The name "France" (and its adjective "French") can have four different meanings which it is important to distinguish in order to avoid ambiguities. Its origin is the Germanic word "frank" which means "free" and is also a male name. In a first meaning, "France" means the whole French Republic. In that case, "French" refers to the nationality, as it is written on the French ID card: "Nationalité : française". The etymology and meaning of the word "France"