739 French Girl Names

Pronounced as the English word joy, rather than as the French phrase joie de vivre, Joie might produce more complications than joy.

This name of a daughter of Zeus has an intriguing air of antiquity.

African-American and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth was born as Isabelle into enslavement. She adopted her new name when she began traveling and preaching abolition in 1843. Sojourner is a heroine name that may, with the rise of spiritual word names such as Journey and Genesis, finally be ready for prime time.

Sweet and charming French nickname for Anne, à la Manon for Marie.

Reinette was the childhood nickname of Madame La Pompadour, perhaps a cute short form for Regina or Reina but hardly worthy of the full name on the birth certificate today.

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.

One familiar name never used for real people, for obvious reasons. Read more about Cinderella and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

The lovely sound and image of the French river and lush valley would make this a most distinctive and captivating choice. Pronunciation: low-ahr.

The rarer long form of Priscilla, which comes from the Roman name Priscus, meaning "ancient".

Patrice is a more modern-sounding and polished unisex alternative to Patricia.

In this country, likely to conjure up visions of leafy lettuce.

The name of a French city famous for its fine lace. Another association: Chantilly cream – a sweetened whipped cream apparently invented there in the 17th century by a chef at the Château de Chantilly. The town probably takes is name from the Gallo-Roman personal name Cantilius, derived from a word for "white".

Has lost all trace of its French accent.

Justice is a fashionable word name, used for both girls and boys. Justice has the distinction of being a virtue name without the religious implications of Faith or Grace. It still feels more male than female, perhaps partly due to the classic Roman name Justus, but Justice has become a more common pick for girls in recent years.

The grandiose name of a French revolutionary – in full: Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau. Mirabeau likely derives from Latin mirabilis, making it a masculine cousin of Mirabelle.

Instead of the usual French suspects -- Danielle, Isabelle, Gabrielle -- why not consider Fabienne, which is less common and just as pretty.