French inspiration

Marietta would make for a classy and uncommon long form for cool nickname Etta.

Mathilde is even more popular in France than Matilda, a hipster favorite thanks to Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger, is here. And the French pronunciation, while confusing to English speakers, makes it softer and prettier than the version we're more familiar with.

The German Matilda has some European variations that are popular in their native countries. Matilde ranks in Italy's and Portugal's Top 10 for girls, while the French variation Mathilde ranks among the Top 100 girl names in France, Denmark, and Norway.

Mignonette is kind of a diminutive of a diminutive. Mignon is the French word for cute, so Mignonette is more or less cutie.

Odette is the good swan in Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, a role for which Natalie Portman won an Oscar ---and it would make a particularly soigne, sophisticated yet upbeat choice, unlike some of the more dated other 'ette'-ending names.

More and more frequently heard as the Gallic version of Oliver, Olivier could be seen as a tribute to the great British actor, Sir Laurence O.

Ottilie is trending in the UK, where the pronounced T helps the name sound pretty and delicate, rather like Amelie and Elodie. Ottilie is less popular in the US, where many Americans pronounce it as a near-homonym for "oddly".

So many names sound better with a French accent, and Petronille is one of them -- it feels unusual in an elegant way. But in the US, you'd have to be adventurous to choose it.

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.

Novel French twist on Starr or Stella.