500+ French Dog Names

Beach boy name of the 1960s, Darrell is still a presence on the charts and may graduate into a stately surname name.

Sophisticated, stylish feminine form of Pascal especially appropriate for girls born around Easter or Passover.

An undiscovered gem with clunky, buttoned-up appeal and a literary feel thanks to poet Delmore Schwartz.

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!"

The iconic Gone With the Wind star Clark's surname was brought into the first-name mix when Weeds' Kevin Nealon picked it for his son. Gable makes a strong and unusual possibility, a rhyming cousin to Abel and Mabel.

A unisex French name, but you may want to simplify your son's life if you're English speakers by going with Cyril. It's an unusual enough name that it doesn't need further complications of spelling and pronunciation.

While Sixtine is a name with ancient roots that's popular in modern-day France, it's hard to imagine it gaining hold in English-speaking lands, given its similarity to the number sixteen and its even-more-problematic similarity to the word "sexting." You wouldn't do that to your daughter.

Varying Filbert does not improve the name: it still makes one think of a nut.

Once you get past the pronunciation hurdle, a smooth and elegant choice. In French, it's spelt with a circumflex: Benoît.

Pom is a shortened word name that's not much used in France, but cute and familiar here as one of Babar (the Elephant's) triplets. Pom, pommy and pommie are (non-derogatory) terms sometimes used by Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans to denote a person of English heritage. 

Suzette has a kind of clunky retro charm – so kitsch it's almost cool again.

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

Sleek and sophisticated.

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.

The feminine version of the newly-stylish Roman -- and the longer form of the also-newly-stylish Romy -- would make a girls' choice that achieves that near-impossible balance of being both original and fashionable. This variation is far superior to Romaine, which is too lettuce-y.

This fabric word name would be a one-of-a-kind.

This surname-name oozes Southern charm; nevertheless, its most famous bearer was a New Englander, Rhode Island senator Claiborne de Borda Pell, who sponsored education legislation leading to the much beloved Pell scholarship programme. That connection alone instills this name with intellect as well as style.

A psychic mystique clings to this name of cards used in fortune-telling.

Herby and aristocratic Basil remains a tough sell, but we’d like to introduce you to Basile, the delightful French version. It retains all of Basil’s charm, but sheds some of the pesto linkage.