150+ French Last Names

Loose, lean, and lanky cowboy-sounding names have become a recent trend, but how about the name of a real one--the Singing Cowboy Gene. Autry might be thought of as a masculine spin on the fashionable Audrey or a fresher version of Austin or Auden.

Some other cowboy surnames from the Golden Age of movie and TV westerns: Boone, Boyd, Cody, Corrigan, Gibson, Hart, Holt, Houston, McCoy and Renaldo.

The name of the great French novelist, author of the timeless The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, would make a surprising middle name choice.

Has joined Chanel and Armani on the fashionista hit parade of names. The meaning of Dior is uncertain but it may be "gold".

This name is usually seen as a surname, but could be used as a first in the tradition of Cooper, Sawyer etc.

Fans of the classic French film actor Jean Gabin might want to consider this one. Gabin is also a harmonica-playing character in the manga and anime series "Mirmo!"

Though it's close to the German and French form of Matthew, Mathis, this name of the great artist can work as well for girls.

This French feminine version of Germain is a unisex choice in the U.S., also spelled Jermaine, Jemaine, and Germain. Rooted in the ancient Latin Germanus, which may mean sprout or brother, it's no longer a fashionable choice in any version.

While the (male) French form is pronounced in English like the girls' name Michelle and the German form had a hard k-like sound in the middle, this variation of Michael is distinguished by being used evenly for girls and boys in the U.S. For either gender, though, pronunciation issues will dominate.

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.

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.

Bardot joined the first and last names of other glamour girl icons such as (Jean) Harlow when David Boreanaz chose the surname of '50s French sex symbol Brigitte Bardot for his daughter. Bardot debuted in the US charts in 2022.

Jeter, which of course is used as a first name only because of Yankee star Derek, rhymes with Peter and may be derived from the French surname Jette, which was often bestowed on foundlings because it means "thrown out," or the German Jetter, an occupational name meaning "weeder." If your husband insists on Jeter, counter with Percival.

Dubois, which can also be stylized as DuBois or Du Bois, is a surname derived from bois, the French word for "forest." A notable, namesake-worthy bearer is W. E. B. Du Bois (who actually pronounced his surname doo-BOYSS), civil rights activist and a founder of the NAACP. A familiar fictional wearer is Blanche DuBois, protagonist of A Streetcar Named Desire.

his engaging French saint's name, pronounced like tangy, with a hard 'g,' also has a creative connection to French surrealist painter Yves Tanguy.

Highly unlikely philosophical choice.

We wouldn't have considered Piaget as a viable given name option was it not for Solange Knowles, who has it as her middle name. Her mother chose it after the watch brand, but many will recognize it as the surname of pioneering Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. His theories on cognitive development in children are among the most influential in the field of psychology.

The least usable of the Three Musketeers names.

Dapper-sounding choice with old American roots (Dabney Cosby was a 19th century Virginian architect who worked with Thomas Jefferson on some of that state's most iconic buildings). Dabney Montgomery was Martin Luther King Jr's bodyguard, giving this name yet more American history depth. Dab is a sweet nickname option for this name.

A colorful French surname that could appeal to English speakers.