Ferdinand (20 January 1751 – 9 October 1802), baptised Ferdinand Maria Philip Louis Sebastian Francis James, was the Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla from his father's death on 18 July 1765 until he ceded the duchy to France by the Treaty of Aranjuez on 20 March 1801. He was a member of the Spanish House of Bourbon.

Born at the Ducal Palace of Colorno as the second child and only son of Philip, Duke of Parma, and Princess Louise Élisabeth of France, he was considered to be the favorite grandson of his maternal grandfather King Louis XV of France. As a grandson in the male line of King Philip V of Spain, he was also an infante of Spain. As a grandson of King Louis, Ferdinand was also a direct descendant of England's William the Conqueror.

As the heir to one of the largest collection of sovereign duchies, Ferdinand was an attractive candidate for many royal ladies of Europe. Probable candidates included the heiress Princess Maria Beatrice Ricciarda of Modena, daughter of Ercole III of Modena and (like Ferdinand) an in law of Marie Antoinette. His possible marriage to Princess Maria Beatrice was, however, very unlikely since the latter had been engaged to Archduke Leopold of Austria (later Emperor Leopold II)at a very young age and later on to Leopold's younger brother, Archduke Ferdinand, upon the death of an older brother, Archduke Charles. It is likely that a union between Parma and Modena was only promoted in vain by Parma's Minister, Du Tillot, since the engagement of Modena's heiress to an Austrian Archduke was already agreed very early on. Another candidate was Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde d'Orléans who offered a very large dowry; she was the only surviving daughter of Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. She was the sister of Philippe Égalité.

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