1200+ French Names (with Meanings and Popularity)

Variation of Terence.

A sophisticated girls' name for those attracted to Leona, Leonie and Leonore.

Pleasant-sounding French surname.

Pacome is a French saint's name rarely heard in this country, but currently being revived in its native France.

Some variants are Pacomi, Pacomio and Pacomius.

How to spruce up Fisher or Beau? This French surname-name might be an option for a parent unafraid of the unusual. The name derives from Barbel, a type of fish, which is how it became a surname for some fishermen.

Surname of a fifteenth-century saint and a twenty-first-century quarterback, Brett Favre.

Fervent fans of The Catcher in the Rye might want to consider this as a literary tribute. More mainstream alternative: Holden.

Rarely heard but pleasing feminissima name for a baby girl.

We can think of two drawbacks to this name: the slightly feminine el ending, and the resemblance to the delicate dumpling called a quenelle.

A Blaise/Blaze hybrid that maintains neither the history of Blaise nor the wordiness of Blaze.

Octave shortens Octavius to a more manageable length, keeping the "eighth" meaning. In English speaking countries, however, people could easily confuse this with the musical term octave.

There are not one but two notable modern women with this name: journalist Christiane Amanpour and physician/author Christiane Northrup. In Germany, the pronunciation is kris-tee-AH-na while in France, it's kris-tee-AHN — and in the U.S., there's sure to be confusion. While Christiane is not stylish, it's a strong, attractive, unusual-though-familiar name.

Though Patrice is still common for boys in France, it has long been feminine here.

This Frenchified variation softens and prettifies the harsh original.

Feminine, à la Beryl and Merrill.