500+ French Dog Names

Charming Gallic name uncommon in France, and unknown in this country, with literary credibility as the title of a Charlotte Brontë novel.

This surname-name comes with some great connotations: Addie Ballou the American feminist, Kurt Ballou — guitarist with the band Converge, or Adin Ballou — abolitionist and pacifist. It has a trendy, whimsical sound that sets it apart from more traditional surnames like Cooper, Hunter, and Archer and puts it more in the camp of the softer international names like Aaru, Bayou, and Finlo.

An English surname derived from the French place name Beauvais, which in turn comes from the name of an ancient Gaulish tribe, the Bellovaci.

This spelling does not dispel the "perv" connection.

Once exclusively male name, Daryl Hannah made the Darrell spelling just as appropriate for girls -- and maybe even more feminine than masculine these days.

Bachelor feels more like a prediction than a name.

Balletic, à la pirouette.

Hilaire, a name that has rarely been exported out of its native France, was originally bestowed in honor of the fourth century bishop and theologian St. Hilaire of Poitiers.

There are plenty of French guys named Fabrice, but here, it sounds more like a laundry product.

Old-time movie actor Franchot Tone (born Stanislas -- Franchot was his mother's maiden name) earned this name its own place in the book. An interesting, provocative choice.

Associated with the "Star Trek" commander of the USS Enterprise.

Manet is the accessible, attractive name of an Impressionist great; it could be the next Monet.

Oriana's not-quite-as-pretty French cousin.

Woody Allen used this name for his daughter to honor jazz hero Sidney Bechet -- and it could work for a boy as well.

Breton is the term for the people and language of Brittany, a region of northern France with a distinct culture. Breton also might be thought of as a trendy modern invention, taking the midcentury surfer boy Bret or Brett and adding the current favorite boy's name ending -on and turning it into a name all its own. Bretton is a variation.

A French word name that could be a fresh spin on Summer or Autumn.