French Names that Start With B

Unusual surname with rowdy quality.

Charming Gallic possibility but with some obvious playground problems.

An English surname derived from the French place name Beauvais, which in turn comes from the name of an ancient Gaulish tribe, the Bellovaci.

So tied to being Jacqueline Kennedy's maiden name that it's best saved for a girl.

Pronounced Beshette, this unfamiliar French appellation sounds fresh and feminine.

This surname-name comes with some great connotations: Addie Ballou the American feminist, Kurt Ballou — guitarist with the band Converge, or Adin Ballou — abolitionist and pacifist. It has a trendy, whimsical sound that sets it apart from more traditional surnames like Cooper, Hunter, and Archer and puts it more in the camp of the softer international names like Aaru, Bayou, and Finlo.

Bachelor feels more like a prediction than a name.

Breton is the term for the people and language of Brittany, a region of northern France with a distinct culture. Breton also might be thought of as a trendy modern invention, taking the midcentury surfer boy Bret or Brett and adding the current favorite boy's name ending -on and turning it into a name all its own. Bretton is a variation.

Woody Allen used this name for his daughter to honor jazz hero Sidney Bechet -- and it could work for a boy as well.