1200+ French Names (with Meanings and Popularity)

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.

Historically, the French and English name Florence was used for both sexes. And Florent is a steady classic in France, booming there in the 1980s. Maybe it's time to import it, and show that boys can be floral too.

Yes, we tend to think of Claude as a male name and Claudia and Claudette as the female, but this ancient clan name is used in France for girls as well as boys, and could make a distinctively chic boy name for girls here too. You may be surprised to know that Claude was in fairly regular use for American girls in the 1880's and nineties, reaching as high as 553 in 1880.

The rarer long form of Priscilla, which comes from the Roman name Priscus, meaning "ancient".

Josue - usually written as Josué - is a French, Spanish, and Portuguese variation of Joshua that has been in the US Top 300 since 1990 and in the Top 1000 since the 70s. While it remains popular in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, in its native Spain, France, and Portugal, it has fallen slightly out of style.

This buoyant name has the same bouncy rhythm as Rafferty and Barnaby, but is virtually unused. It has plenty of literary cred, too: characters in The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native have all borne the name.

The French spin on the name of the great Homeric hero with the vulnerable heel seems somewhat more portable into the modern world.

The chic Euro spelling of Henry is rising along with the original form.

The grandiose name of a French revolutionary – in full: Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau. Mirabeau likely derives from Latin mirabilis, making it a masculine cousin of Mirabelle.

With Angelina becoming so popular thanks to Ms. Jolie, this could be a new twist—but everyone will always misunderstand it as Angelina. While it currently ranks at Number 951 in the US, it's Number 352 in France.

Traditionally used by the ultrareligious, the French boys' name Baptiste comes from the Greek word meaning "to dip". Baptiste is one of the Top 100 Boy Names in France.

This highly unusual name has been kicked up a notch, thanks to cooking guru Emeril Lagasse.

Leona with a French accent that gives it a bit more flair. It's currently very popular there – in the Top 30 for French baby girls.

Innovative French word name, suggesting illumination and clarity.

This regal French name is a descendant of the Latin Regina, as is the Spanish Reina. Reine is also a male name in Scandinavia.

Surname of French architect Jean Nouvel that became a given name when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie used it as the middle name of their daughter Shiloh.

Calm, composed, and chic.

Though it's French, most Americans would pronounce it as the stone.