1200+ French Names (with Meanings and Popularity)

For years there was only one Cher, and then along came the charming heroine of the movie "Clueless." The world now officially has enough Chers in it.

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.

Ghislaine still sounds unusual to us, even though in France this name is dated. It can also be spelled Ghislain.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Alain gives the midcentury Alan a bit of gallic dash.

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.

Scottish actor Dougray (born Stephen) Scott made us aware of this name when he took on his French grandmother's surname as his stage name.

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

Calm, composed, and chic.