Vintage French Girl's Names

A classic name with regal elegance--Queen Victoria, like other queens, had Regina appended to her name. She was a Top 100 name in the 1960s.

This regal French name is a descendant of the Latin Regina, as is the Spanish Reina. Reine is also a male name in Scandinavia.

Chic in the fifties, now kept in the public eye mainly by actress Zellweger; today's parents seek more moderne Gallic choices.

As sweet-smelling as Rose but with an international flavour, Rosa is one of the most classic Portuguese, Spanish and Italian names, which is also favored by upper-class Brits, having an ample measure of vintage charm. Rosa has been on the popularity charts for every year that's been counted, especially popular from the 1880s through the beginning of the twentieth century.

Rosalie hit its apex in 1938 and then slid straight downhill until it fell off the U.S. Top 1000 completely in the 1980s, only to spring back to life in 2009 as the name of a character in the Twilight series. The beautiful vampire Rosalie Hale has breathed fresh life back into this mid-century name, and the fact that the character is both sympathetic and relatively minor means Rosalie has the chance to thrive again as a baby name without feeling unduly tied to Twilight.

Rose is derived from the Latin rosa, which referred to the flower. There is also evidence to suggest it was a Norman variation of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis, meaning "famous type," and also Hros, "horse". In Old English it was translated as Roese and Rohese.

Rosine can be thought of as a short form of the classic flower name Rose. It's similar to the Irish Róisín, though that is pronounced roh-sheen.

Sidonie is an appealing and chic French favorite that is starting to attract some American fans as a fresher alternative to Sydney. Also spelled Sidony, Sidonie was the birth name of the French novelist Colette.

Simone, the elegant French feminization of Simon, strikes that all-important balance between unusual and familiar, and it's oozing with Gallic sophistication. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has a daughter named Simone; Chris Rock used it in the middle place for his daughter, as did Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates

This is a soft, soignée French girls' namethat has become familiar here via singer Solange Knowles, younger sister of Beyonce.

Sophie is the French form of the Greek Sophia, for which it is also commonly used as a nickname. Given Sophia's long standing among the Top 10 girl names in the US, Sophie may feel more popular than it actually is.

Suzanne became popular along with Susan but has just dropped out of the Top 1,000. Wait a generation (or two) in the US, though in France Suzanne is once again tres chic.

Although Sylvia seems to be having somewhat of a revival among trendsetting baby namers, we'd still opt for the even gentler and more unusual Sylvie. Despite being dated in its native France (where it was popular during the 1950s and 60s), in English-speaking regions it still feels fresh and international without being unfamiliar and has a cosmopolitan, international air. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016.

Last popular in this country from the 1920s to the 1950s, it now seems more modern than the English Theresa.

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.

Adds French flair to Victoria, though many Americans would find pronunciation a challenge.