1200+ French Names (with Meanings and Popularity)

The iconic Gone With the Wind star Clark's surname was brought into the first-name mix when Weeds' Kevin Nealon picked it for his son. Gable makes a strong and unusual possibility, a rhyming cousin to Abel and Mabel.

Noel, the French word for Christmas has been given to both boys and girls born on that holiday since the Middle Ages. For girls it's often spelled Noelle.

Chic in the fifties, now kept in the public eye mainly by actress Zellweger; today's parents seek more moderne Gallic choices.

Last popular in this country from the 1920s to the 1950s, it now seems more modern than the English Theresa.

Suzette has a kind of clunky retro charm – so kitsch it's almost cool again.

Novel French twist on Starr or Stella.

Haitian writer Edwidge Danticat highlighted this sophisticated, chignon-wearing choice for literate parents.

It's tempting to think of Gui as the Spanish form of Guy, but it's short for Guillermo.

More likely to be spelled Constantine, this was the name of the first Christian emperor of the Roman empire, as well as three Scottish kings. Previously thought of as too bulky and unwieldy a name for a modern child, these days it would be perfectly acceptable.

An undiscovered gem with clunky, buttoned-up appeal and a literary feel thanks to poet Delmore Schwartz.

Once you get past the pronunciation hurdle, a smooth and elegant choice. In French, it's spelt with a circumflex: Benoît.

Herby and aristocratic Basil remains a tough sell, but we’d like to introduce you to Basile, the delightful French version. It retains all of Basil’s charm, but sheds some of the pesto linkage.

This surname-name oozes Southern charm; nevertheless, its most famous bearer was a New Englander, Rhode Island senator Claiborne de Borda Pell, who sponsored education legislation leading to the much beloved Pell scholarship programme. That connection alone instills this name with intellect as well as style.

While Sixtine is a name with ancient roots that's popular in modern-day France, it's hard to imagine it gaining hold in English-speaking lands, given its similarity to the number sixteen and its even-more-problematic similarity to the word "sexting." You wouldn't do that to your daughter.

Veronica seems poised to rise again, along with many other V names, and with it may follow this more romantic French version.

A psychic mystique clings to this name of cards used in fortune-telling.

In Pierre Benoit's novel, Antinea is a beautiful and charming queen with a hideous secret: She has a cave wall with 120 niches carved into it, one for each of her lovers. Only 53 have been filled; when all 120 have been filled, Antinea will sit atop a throne in the centre of the cave and rest forever.

A cute Hebrew name also written as Orli.