1200+ French Names (with Meanings and Popularity)

Most contemporary parents would probably opt for the more streamlined Elle.

A name better left where it is, embroidered on a fifties poodle skirt.

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.

Romany is a melodious name referring to the Roma or Romani community and their culture, which makes it a potentially controversial choice for a baby not of that heritage. Romany Malco is an actor who appeared on the television show "Weeds." Other similar ideas: Roman, Romano, or Romeo.

Embroidered lace hankie of a name, used in a Thomas Hardy novel. That literary cred lends some gravitas.

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.

Mercer is one fashionable occupational name that can work as well for girls as boys, perhaps because of the soft c or the conventionally feminine nickname Mercy.

Though it has never charted in the United States, this frilly name has the elements some brave, modern namers might find attractive—namely, the initial O and the -ia suffix.

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

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.

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

The least usable of the Three Musketeers names.

Strongly connected to Elie Wiesel — Holocaust survivor, Nobel laureate, and author of the influential book Night.

A unisex French name, but you may want to simplify your son's life if you're English speakers by going with Cyril. It's an unusual enough name that it doesn't need further complications of spelling and pronunciation.

How to spruce up Fisher or Beau? This French surname-name might be an option for a parent unafraid of the unusual. The name derives from Barbel, a type of fish, which is how it became a surname for some fishermen.

This name of famed philosopher, mathematician and Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell becomes slightly more plausible with the French pronunciation, bare-TRAHN. Another noted bearer is French director and screenwriter Bertrand Tavernier.

The feminine version of the newly-stylish Roman -- and the longer form of the also-newly-stylish Romy -- would make a girls' choice that achieves that near-impossible balance of being both original and fashionable. This variation is far superior to Romaine, which is too lettuce-y.