1200+ French Names (with Meanings and Popularity)

Best-selling Prep author Curtis Sittenfeld made this one of the many boy names for girls" gaining in popularity and acceptability.

Sweet and endearing, à la Mignon and Manon.

Saint Germain, the intellectual center of Paris, lends the name a creative aura. But most Americans would say jer-mayn. The Latin Germanus may mean sprout or bud, or brother.

Chance has risen far on the baby-naming charts, but Hazard has a considerably more dangerous edge. It was the middle name of famed US naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry.

Romantique French name invoking Debussy's haunting score for the opera Pelléas and Mélisande.

Cachet is one of those word names -- Cliché is the most egregious example -- that sounds lovely but seems slightly ridiculous when taken literally.

One of those old-mannish names that sounds a lot fresher for a girl.

One of the few French words/names not attractive to the American ear. It's pronounced moo-gay, not a winner on either syllable. Alternatives: Liliane, Lily, Lilou, Manon.

French form of Urban or Urbanus, borne by eight popes.

Peverell is the surname of a Harry Potter family.

Has been used in the past by parents wishing to invoke the blessing and protection of all the saints, also given to boys born on November 1, All Saints' Day.