739 French Girl Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

Leontine is the French form of a name that's more familiar by its spelling variation Leontyne, the name made famous by opera diva Price. An obscure choice, Leontine nevertheless feels right for our lion-name-crazed moment.

Lucienne is a soft and ultra-sophisticated French-accented option in the Lucy family, one that could provide a fresh alternative to such fatigued Gallic choices as Danielle and Michelle.

French version of Leah, currently popular with French-speaking parents. In this spelling, it looks pleasingly like the female equivalent of Leo (or Léo), and sounds like Leia.

Although the accent in Linnet is on the first syllable, it could be confused with the dated Lynette.

The sort of oh-so-French name that's falling out of favor now.

Marietta would make for a classy and uncommon long form for cool nickname Etta.

Though it's used far more often for boys, Lyle has a lot in common with today's trending girl names that share the double L sound: Lila, Layla, and Lola.

The French spelling of Lucy feels particularly light and shimmery.

Sophisticated French choice. Or toxic petrochemical.

Yet another creative character name from Toni Morrison, Denver was a daughter of Sethe's in the novel Beloved. Today Denver is most familiar as the name of the largest city in Colorado, used almost equally for girls and boys.

In the Top 25 in the unisex seventies, these days Tracy would more likely be Gracie.

Now that Violet is becoming more popular, parents are starting to explore same-but-different options such as the French Violette, which would properly be pronounced with a long e sound in the first syllable and three syllables -- vee-oh-let -- as well as the Spanish Violeta — both of which were among the fastest-rising girl names of 2023.

A sleek, smooth, understated name off the grid in the US but among the Top 100 girl names in Germany. In the US, it is a unisex name, while in Germany and the Netherlands, it is predominantly feminine.

This is an energetic dance of an Irish surname, great for both genders. Could also be spelled Delancy.

The rise of the the various Isabel names may give a boost to this variation, which has a sunny, springtime feel.

Marine is an extremely popular and fashionable name in France that's virtually unknown here — and is ready to set sail. Marine feels more contemporary than Marina and less hippie-esque than Oceane, another popular name for girls in France.

A smooth and velvety Gallic choice first heard here as the heroine of the movie "Chocolat."

Minuet is delicate, dancey, and lacy, with a Masterpiece Theatre feel. Is Minuet a real name? Not really, though similar-sounding French names such as Minette and Manette are.

It's interesting how names imported to the US from other countries and cultures have fashion cycles of their own. Paulette along with cousins Annette and Claudette were the most fashionable French imports in the middle of the last century, only to sink from sight and be replaced by such current French favorites as Charlotte, Sophie, and Eloise. In general, feminizations of male names have faded in favor of gender-neutral choices, and Paul itself is off its own fashion peak. But Paulette has the same vintage charm as names like Margot and Josephine that are very much a la mode. And far from being extinct, Paulette hits that sweet spot of names that are familiar but not over-used. It was given to about 130 baby girls in the US last year, on par with May, Avalon, Jolee, Liza, and Vivianne. This is three times as many baby girls as were named Paulette in 2000, so while the name may still lie well beneath the Top 1000, it's very much on the way up.