1200+ French Names (with Meanings and Popularity)

Octave shortens Octavius to a more manageable length, keeping the "eighth" meaning. In English speaking countries, however, people could easily confuse this with the musical term octave.

The soignée French member of this family of names.

Though Patrice is still common for boys in France, it has long been feminine here.

This glamorous name of a hot young French singer is catching on. Tessa and Barron Hilton used it as a middle name for their daughter Milou.

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.

The English name pool is lacking a male equivalent to Seraphina, but this angelic boy name is occasionally used in France.

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

Intriguing way to signal Welsh ancestry; more unusual than Wallace.

Pleasant-sounding French surname.

The strong and unusual name of a medieval (male) saint and a contemporary (female) novelist, Benilde Little.

Shot to fame as the middle name of Brangelina's daughter Shiloh Nouvel, after French architect Jean Nouvel.

An intriguing but challenging choice, because of possible confusion with all the Terry-type names.

This French version of Viridiana and Viridis lacks the charm of similar and more familiar French names like Vivienne and Adrienne.