French Cat Names

Sounds like a princess -- or an enticingly evil witch -- in a fairy tale.

Seems destined to be the preferred short form of this old French name, with its brief, modern, word name feel.

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.

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. 

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

Cabot is an attractive English surname associated with the daring early Italian-born British explorer known as John Cabot; his birth name was Giovanni Caboto.

Venerable old saint's name now associated solely with talk show host Philbin, who is constantly seeking namesakes.

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.

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.

A Gallic twist on a word or nature name, which has a nice lemony feel. 

In the US Amber is stuck in the '80s, while Ambre is a fresh choice in France.

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

This French name meaning goddess is a possible Gallic import in the Celine mode.

Rare French option for girls, but feels familiar thanks to the popularity of Sebastian.

A floral name, used in Romania and popular in Moldova too. Camellia is the English form, while Camélia is used in France. The flower itself is named after botanist George Josef Kamel.

Le Pew. We don't think so, although it's a megacommon nickname name in Latino countries.

If you're actually considering this as a name for your child, you must have had a glass too many. But it's an awesome name for a white cat.

More commonly spelled as Sylvester in English speaking countries, Silvester is closer to its Latin origins silva .