France is a country well-known for its beautiful sights, food and wine, and its rich history and culture. From the snow-capped mountains to the Riviera coast to the iconic Eiffel Tower in the City of Lights and Love, France is captivating. It is a popular tourist destination, but it's also a place that has had a profound influence on art, fashion, and literature. France is also known for its romantic and elegant language, providing the perfect inspiration for baby names. There are many reasons to consider a French name for your child. It may be to honor your ancestry—or maybe you're just into all things France, you love the sound of the name, or you’re looking for something a little different. French names can represent prominent figures in art and science such as Claude and Louis, or saints such as Claire and Dominque. They can be trendy like Gabrielle and Leo or uniquely French like Fleur and François. Read on to learn about 100 popular and unique French baby names that are très magnifique! Here are some popular and unique French baby names for girls along with their meanings, origins, and other interesting information.
Fun Fact: Aurore and Aimée is a children’s story by French writer Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.
Fun Fact: Marie Antoinette was the Queen of France who is rumored to have said the famous words, “Let them eat cake.”
Fun Fact: Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski is a scientist and is married to Howard Wolowitz on the television comedy series The Big Bang Theory.
Fun Fact: Blanche Devereaux is one of the main characters in The Golden Girls, a classic TV series with a cult following about four older women who live together in a house in Miami.
Fun Fact: Camille is the title of a 1936 movie staring the actress Greta Garbo. The film is generally considered her greatest performance.
Fun Fact: The House of Chanel was founded in 1909 by fashion designer and entrepreneur Coco Chanel.
Fun Fact: Charlotte is the spider who weaves words into her web to save her friend Wilbur the pig in the classic children’s novel Charlotte’s Web.
Fun Fact: Chloé Pig is Peppa Pig’s cousin and a supporting character on the animated children’s television series Peppa Pig.
Fun Fact: Claire’s is a retail store that sells fashion jewelry and other accessories.
Fun Fact: A clementine is a small, sweet citrus fruit and a type of mandarin orange.
Fun Fact: Saint Colette was a nun who gave her money to the poor and founded the Colettine Poor Clares.
Fun Fact: Corinne Tate is the daughter of Chester and Jessica Tate and one of the main characters on the TV comedy series Soap.
Fun Fact: Danielle Steel is a well-known romance writer and one of the best-selling authors of all time.
Fun Fact: Denise Quiñones won the Miss Universe competition in 2001 representing Puerto Rico.
Fun Fact: Desiree is a variety of large, red potatoes that are perfect to mash, roast, or cut for wedges and chips.
Fun Fact: “Dominique” is a song about the 12th-century priest, Saint Dominic. It was a hit single for The Singing Nun in the 1960s.
Fun Fact: Elaine Benes is one of the main characters and one of Jerry’s best friends on the television comedy series Seinfeld.
Fun Fact: Fleur Delacour is a character in the Harry Potter book series who fights in the Battle of Hogwarts and marries Bill Weasley.
Fun Fact: Fran Drescher is the nasal-sounding actor who played the main character Francine “Fran” Fine in the TV sitcom The Nanny.
Fun Fact: The iconic fashion designer Coco Chanel’s real name is Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel.
Fun Fact: Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, is believed to have saved Paris from the Huns through her prayers and devotion to God.
Fun Fact: Giselle is a beautiful, old French ballet that is one of the most famous and most performed around the world.
Fun Fact: The record-setting flyer, Jacqueline Auriol, was one of the first women to become a test pilot and break the sound barrier.
Fun Fact: Jeanne is the name of a 12-mile-wide crater on Venus that is the result of an object that hit the surface of the planet.
Fun Fact: The Jewel Tower is a sightseeing stop in London, England near Westminster Abbey. It was part of the Medieval Palace of Westminster built in the 1300s.
Fun Fact: Jolie is Angelina Jolie’s middle name. She was born Angelina Jolie Voight.
Fun Fact: Joséphine Bonepart was the Empress of France and Napolean’s wife.
Fun Fact: Juliet Capulet is one of the main characters in the classic romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
Fun Fact: Lorraine is an area in the northwest part of France that is part of the broader region of Grand Est which also includes Alsace, Champagne, and Ardenne.
Fun Fact: Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow is the full name of the successful, award-winning actress known as Mia Farrow.
Fun Fact: Lady Louise Windsor is a member of the British Royal Family and a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth.
Fun Fact: The St. Lucie river flows through St. Lucie County and Martin County in South Florida.
Fun Fact: Madeleine is the name of a small, soft, shell-shaped sponge cake that is a traditional sweet, treat from the North of France.
Fun Fact: Along with plenty of restaurants and entertainment, there’s a sunset celebration every night at Mallory Square in Key West, Florida.
Fun Fact: Manon is an iconic French Opera and one of the most celebrated works by composer Jules Massenet.
Fun Fact: Margot is one of Elle Wood’s sorority sisters in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde.
Fun Fact: Marie Curie is one of the most famous scientists. She discovered radium and polonium and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911.
Fun Fact: “Michelle” is a Grammy-winning Beatle’s song that was released in 1965 and hit number one in France and five other countries in 1966.
Fun Fact: Mount Monique is a mountain in Antarctica discovered in 1910 during a French expedition commanded by explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot.
Fun Fact: Aucassin et Nicolette is an old French tale told in alternating verses of singing words and speaking words.
Fun Fact: Père Noël is Father Christmas and the French name for the famous gift-giver, Santa Claus.
Fun Fact: Odette is the leading female role in the classic Tchaikovsky masterpiece Swan Lake.
Fun Fact: Patrice is a gender-neutral name that is more often given to girls in the United States, but more often given to boys in France.
Fun Fact: Pauline, also known as Lady, is the character Donkey Kong kidnaps and Mario tries to save in the original Donkey Kong video game.
Fun Fact: Renée of France was the Duchess of Ferrara and the daughter of King Louis XII who supported the Reformation in France and Italy.
Fun Fact: Simone Deveaux is one of the main characters in the first season of the TV series and sci-fi drama, Heroes.
Fun Fact: Crêpes Suzette is a famous French dessert consisting of crepes with a liqueur and citrus sauce served on fire or flambé.
Fun Fact: Violet Beauregarde is the competitive, gum-chewing character who turns blue and swells up like a blueberry after disobeying the rules in Ronald Dahl’s classic story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Fun Fact: Miss Yvonne was “the most beautiful woman in Puppetland” and one of Pee-wee’s regular visitors on the Saturday morning children’s TV show Pee-wee’s Playhouse.
Fun Fact: Zoe is a young orange Muppet and one of Elmo’s friends on the long-running children’s program Sesame Street. Here are some popular and unique French baby names for boys along with their meanings, origins, and other interesting information.
Fun Fact: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French pilot and writer whose most famous work was Le Petite Prince or The Little Prince.
Fun Fact: Armand Peugeot was a French engineer and early developer of the automobile.
Fun Fact: The story of King Arthur, Camelot, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table is fictitious, but historians continue to debate whether or not Arthur is based on a real person.
Fun Fact: Saint Brice was the Bishop of Tours in France from 397 AD until his death in 444 AD.
Fun Fact: Charlemagne, also known as Charles I and Charles the Great, is one of the most famous leaders of all time. He was King of the Franks and ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages.
Fun Fact: Claude Monet was a French impressionist artist whose famous paintings include Woman with a Parasol; Impression, Sunrise; and the Water Lilies series.
Fun Fact: Saint Denis was a Bishop of Paris who lived in the third century. He is the patron saint of France.
Fun Fact: François Holland is a recent former President of France who held the office from 2012 to 2017.
Fun Fact: The French artist Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi is the sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty as a gift for the United States.
Fun Fact: Saint Gabriel is one of the three most recognized archangels along with St. Michael and St. Raphael.
Fun Fact: Gaston is a good looking, self-centered character who falls for Belle and becomes the villain in the 1991 Disney animated movie Beauty and the Beast.
Fun Fact: Gilbert and Sullivan are the songwriting team and genius duo behind operettas such as The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, and the Yeomen of the Guard.
Fun Fact: “G.U.Y.” is the name of a Lady Gaga song from her 2013 Album ARTPOP.
Fun Fact: Hugo is one of the gargoyles in the Disney movie, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Victor is another gargoyle, and their names honor Victor Hugo, the author of the original novel.
Fun Fact: Jacques Cousteau was an explorer and researcher who taught the world about the ocean and its inhabitants.
Fun Fact: In the fictional world of Star Trek, Jean-Luc Picard is a Captain and commanding officer of the Federation starships USS Stargazer, USS Enterprise-D, and USS Enterprise-E.
Fun Fact: Jules Verne is the French writer and pioneer of science fiction whose famous works include 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in 80 Days, and Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Fun Fact: Leo is an old, royal, and religious name. There were six emperors, thirteen popes, and many kings and saints who went by the name of Leo.
Fun Fact: Louis Pasteur was a French scientist who developed pasteurization and vaccines for rabies and anthrax.
Fun Fact: Luc Jacquet is the writer and director of the Oscar-winning documentary film March of the Penguins.
Fun Fact: The modern artist Marc Chagall is well known throughout the world for his abstract style.
Fun Fact: Marcel is the name of the pet Capuchin monkey that belonged to Ross on the TV series Friends.
Fun Fact: Marin Luther was a 14th-century monk who was part of the Reformation where Christians broke away from the Catholic church. Followers of his teachings are Protestants who belong to the Lutheran Church.
Fun Fact: Maurice Koechlin was one of the engineers behind some major designs including the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Garabit viaduct.
Fun Fact: Nicolas Sarkozy was the President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Fun Fact: Père Noël is Father Christmas and the French name for that famous gift-giver, Santa Claus.
Fun Fact: The USS Orville is the name of the spacecraft in Seth MacFarlane’s futuristic science fiction TV series, The Orville.
Fun Fact: Pascal is a popular boy’s name in French-speaking countries. It tends to be more common for boys born on or around Easter or those born on May 17 which is the feast day of Saint Pascal.
Fun Fact: Paul is the name of a chain of pâtisseries or bakeries in France and 33 other countries that specializes in bread, pastries, and other sweet treats.
Fun Fact: Sir Percival was one of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table.
Fun Fact: Philippe is Maurice and Belle’s horse in Disney’s animated film Beauty and the Beast.
Fun Fact: Pierre is the capital city of South Dakota, but it’s not the state’s largest or most populated city.
Fun Fact: Quentin Blake is an artist and writer who illustrated many children’s books including works by Dr, Seuss and Roald Dahl.
Fun Fact: Raphael is the name of an archangel, an Italian Renaissance artist, and a Ninja Turtle.
Fun Fact: René Descartes was a mathematician, scientist, and the father of modern philosophy. He said, “I think, therefore I am” and made many important contributions to algebra, geometry, and physics.
Fun Fact: Richard Adams is the author of Watership Down, a novel about the adventures of a group of rabbits looking for a new place to call home.
Fun Fact: Roy Oliver Disney along with his brother Walter Elias, are the co-founders of The Walt Disney Company.
Fun Fact: Russell is the Junior Wilderness Explorer who accidentally joins Carl Fredricksen on his trip to Paradise Falls in Disney Pixar’s Up.
Fun Fact: Sacha Baron Cohen is an actor and comedian famous for creating funny characters such as Borat and Ali G.
Fun Fact: Samuel Morse is the inventor of the telegraph and Morse code.
Fun Fact: Sébastien Érard was a harp and piano manufacturer who made improvements and obtained patents that are still in use on today’s modern versions of the instruments.
Fun Fact: Simon was one of the twelve apostles, but Jesus changed his name to Peter. He became Peter the Apostle and then Saint Peter.
Fun Fact: The USS Sinclair was a Navy ship that sailed from 1919 to 1926. It was named for the decorated naval war hero, Arthur Sinclair.
Fun Fact: Theo LeSieg is one of the pen names used by Theodor Seuss Geisel, but his most famous pen name is Dr. Seuss.
Fun Fact: Thomas the Tank Engine is a character in the children’s TV series Thomas & Friends.
Fun Fact: Travis Coates is the young boy in the classic story and Disney movie, Old Yeller.
Fun Fact: Tristan Ludlow is the main character in the 1994 film Legends of the Fall.
Fun Fact: The name Valentin also honors the 3rd-century martyr, Saint Valentine whose celebration day is February 14.
Fun Fact: Victor Hugo is one of the most celebrated French writers whose well-known works include The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.
Fun Fact: Yves Saint Laurent was a fashion designer and one of the founders of the luxury fashion company by the same name. |