French names can sound so alluring, so appealing, so exotic, and so French! If you are looking for some wonderful French baby names, this page will have all the information you need to get you started.
French baby names often include a middle name, like in English, that is not used when you call the baby by its name. In French, names are never given with a middle initial (John F. Kennedy, had he been born in France, would be known as Jean Kennedy). Many French names correspond to English names and meanings, but with different spellings. Often, French names were historically taken from the Bible and from the Roman Catholic list of saints.
Although the French do not go by their middle names, there are often compound names that include more than one name, such as Jean-Luc, Anne-Marie, or Jean-Paul. In the cases of some compound names, you might see names from both sexes in one compound, such as Jean-Brigitte, or Marie-François. In these cases, the first name in the compound name matches the sex of the baby.
Common French baby names from religious Christian sources include Jean (John, as in the apostle, God is gracious), Michel (Michael), Jacques (James, the supplanter), Marie (Mary, the Virgin, a bitterly wanted child), and Jeanne (a feminine form of Jean or John, that also means God is gracious). Jean-Baptiste is a compound name derived from the Bible, which literally means John the Baptist.
Some French baby names function as both names for girls and boys, including Dominique (a name popular in Corsica), Claude, and Camille.
Here are some French baby names and their meanings for girls: Adele (noble), Belle (beautiful, also a nickname from Isabelle and other names), Colette (victorious, the female form of Nicolas), Elise (consecrated to God, like Elisabeth or Isabelle), Helene (light of the sun), Marguerite or Margot (a pearl), and Valerie (strong). Some French baby names for boys (with their meanings) include: Gerard (speare warrior), Neville (from the new town), Pierre (rock or stone), Regis (ruler or king), and Yves (the little archer). Many French baby names, particularly for boys, relate to a geographical location: Talbot (from the valley), Luc (from Lucania), or Germaine (from Germany).
Some French baby names are altered to create feminine or masculine names. Jacqueline or Jacquenetta are feminine forms of Jacques (James, the supplanter). Michelle is the feminine form of Michael, which means “like the Lord.”
If you are considering naming your child a French name, be sure to think about if you want to include accents on the name. Are they important to you? You might also want to think about how you will pronounce the name (with Anglicized pronunciation? with French pronunciation?) and if others will be able to pronounce the name easily as well. There are some French names, such as Noël, which have very different pronunciations in French and English (In English, it is often pronounce Nole, and in French, it is pronounced No-elle). Noel, meaning Christmas, is sometimes spelled Noelle for girls.
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