French Names that Start With A

Angelique was the fastest-rising girl name of 2021, influenced by French-Mexican actress Angelique Boyer, who starred in the telenovela Imperio de mentiras (Empire of Lies).

Unique baby name and poetic Gallic choice. Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet and novelist active in the early 20th century arts community, who is said to have coined the terms cubism and surrealism. He based his unique surname de plume on his Polish middle name, Apolinary.

One of the oldest and most widely used compound names, now a bit dated but not as much so as its opposite Mary-Ann. The hyphen is optional.

This unique baby name is stronger, more distinctive than April or Avril.

What's the difference between Alexander, the usual English spelling of this deeply classical name, and Alexandre, the French version? English speakers might find the proper French pronunciation challenging: a-lehk-SAHN-dreh, but that last syllable is barely pronounced. Americans might an an a or an ee on the end of the name, or simply pronounce it as Alexander, for better or worse.

This more succinct form of the elegant Arabella might appeal to those who are looking for a less popular spin on Annabel or those who like the sounds of Arabella but want something with fewer frills. Given to 120 girls in 2023, it is around ten times less popular than its longer counterpart.

Putting the emphasis on the "elle" softens a name that seems at once futuristic and medieval.

Also seen as Alyenor and Eleonore, this is an old French name dating back to the Arthurian romances and still heard today.

Alexandra is a name with many international variations, elaborations and short forms, and Alexandrine is one of the more unusual. Another, Alexandrina, was the first name of Queen Victoria.

Loose, lean, and lanky cowboy-sounding names have become a recent trend, but how about the name of a real one--the Singing Cowboy Gene. Autry might be thought of as a masculine spin on the fashionable Audrey or a fresher version of Austin or Auden.

Some other cowboy surnames from the Golden Age of movie and TV westerns: Boone, Boyd, Cody, Corrigan, Gibson, Hart, Holt, Houston, McCoy and Renaldo.

Soft and delicate French name rarely heard here.

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

In Pierre Benoit's novel, Antinea is a beautiful and charming queen with a hideous secret: She has a cave wall with 120 niches carved into it, one for each of her lovers. Only 53 have been filled; when all 120 have been filled, Antinea will sit atop a throne in the centre of the cave and rest forever.

Albertine and Alberta are old-fashioned feminizations ala Geraldine and Roberta. This is the kind of name that sounds very dowdy until a hip celebrity chooses it, at which point we don't know how we missed its coolness all this time.

A historic name seeing some modern use among French-speaking parents.