French names for girls have long fascinated American parents.
Want proof? Every generation claims at least a few favorites. Some, like Genevieve and Josephine, feel like they’re imported directly from Paris. Others, like Julie and Elaine, seem less distinctively French – but their roots are undeniable.
One more piece of evidence? This post has long been among the five most popular lists at Appellation Mountain!
Read on for a discussion of past French names for girls in favor in the US, and some très chic, très français ideas for a nom de fille today.
And if you’re looking for even more French names, be sure to visit Méilleurs Prenoms, my go-to site for French baby names.
A few notes: I’ve omitted diacritical marks throughout most of this list. It’s a difficult call. They’re misspelled without them. And yet, if you use these names in the US, it’s likely many official forms will omit them. My suggestion? If you’re comfortable with the idea that sometimes Anaïs will be just plain Anais, don’t worry about it. But if it bothers you? It might be better to choose a different name.
Secondly, for rare names, I’ve tried to provide some guidance about how to pronounce them. This isn’t necessarily the way you’d hear them in France; I’m aiming for a reasonable approximation of what non-French speakers in the US would probably say.
French Names for Girls: 1880 to 1939
Between 1880 and 1939, these names all appeared in the US Girls’ Top 100 for at least a few years:
- Blanche
- Charlotte
- Elaine
- Genevieve
- Jacqueline
- Josephine
- Louise
- Lucille
- Marguerite
- Pauline
French Names for Girls: Baby Boom
Most of those names remained in use, and many climbed the charts during the Baby Boom. They were joined by:
- Diane
- Joanne
- Michelle
- Renee
- Suzanne
- Valerie
French Names for Girls: 1960s to 1990s
Today’s parents are likely to answer to French names like:
- Danielle
- Denise
- Nicole
- Stephanie
French Names for Girls: 21st Century Favorites
Current classrooms are filled with girls named:
- Charlotte
- Claire
- Gabrielle, the given name of Coco Chanel
- Genevieve
- Josephine
- Madeline, or even the more specifically French Madeleine – though the most popular spelling at the moment is the streamlined – and more American – Madelyn
French Names for Girls: Neglected Possibilities A to L
These names all feel nicely French and mostly undiscovered. For even more fanciful options, see the Find Your Fanciful French name graphic above.
Anaïs – Thanks to writer Anais Nin this name feels slightly familiar in the US. A form of Anna, it’s pronounced ah nah EES.
Capucine – You wouldn’t name your daughter Nasturtium, but translate it to French, and Capucine has potential. It’s the name of a famous French model and actress from the 1960s. In the US, it might be confused for cappuccino, but it’s pronounced kap uh SEEN.
Celeste – Celeste might be the most accessible name on this list.
Chantal – A place name and saint’s surname, Chantal also resembles chant, the French word for song. It saw some use in the US in the 1980s and 90s, but quickly faded.
Élodie – A long time favorite on the site, Elodie is the French form of Alodia. It’s never recently entered the US Top 1000, and with sound-alike Melody in use, it could wear well.
Eulalie – The French version of the Greek Eulalia feels spirited and unexpected. It could shorten to Lally.
Françoise – I’ve heard that Francoise is quite dated in France today. And yet, Francis names all feel like they’re on the upswing in the US. It sounds something like frahn SWAHZ, but it’s a challenging name for non-French speakers.
Lilou – Lily names are white hot in the US, so how about Lilou? It might be cousin to Lily, but it owes its popularity to 1997 sci fi movie The Fifth Element.
French Names for Girls: Neglected Possibilities M to Z
Mireille – The heroine of Pierre Capretz’ French in Action series, Mireille taught countless American students to parlez français. The spelling is tricky, but the sound – mee RAY – works.
Maëlys – This is one of several feminine forms of Mael, a Breton saint from the fifth century. It’s pronounced something like MAH eh liss. Maēlle is another option.
Noémie – Naomi and the Italian Noemi rank in the current US Top 1000, but the French spelling does not.
Océane – River is big in the US, but in French-speaking countries, it was the word for ocean that made waves.
Salomé – A Biblical girls’ name, Salome is heard in many languages. But it’s been in the French girls’ Top 100 recently, so it feels like a fit for this list.
Severine – Severus belongs to Harry Potter. But maybe Severine fits with names like Genevieve?
Sidonie – At peak Sidney, Sidonie might have confused. But maybe it works today? It’s not related to Sidney. Instead, it comes from an old Latin name from the city of Sidon, in Phoenicia.
Solange – Another saint’s name, Solange looks like a smoosh of sol – sun – and ange – angel. But it actually comes from a Latin word meaning religious.
Zélie – St. Zelie Martin was the mother of St. Therese of Lisieux. She and her husband, Louis, were canonized in 2015. That’s raised the name’s profile considerably. Combined with that zippy Z, it’s one of the most wearable rarities on this list.
French Names for Girls: Now Find Yours!
I’ve taken some of the rarest of the rare names and put them together. Find your fanciful French name above!
What are your favorite French names for girls?
This post was published originally on July 17, 2008. It was revised substantially and re-posted on July 12, 2018.
I’m gonna name my unborn daughter something that means “to sing/singing” in chinese. We live in the USA so for convenience we want to add a name that is easy for english speakers. The english name ideally would carry the chinese meaning, otherwise we’d consider if the chinese phonetics will mimic nicely in a decent english spelled name.
I took french before and I love the sound of “chansant/chanter”. Thanks to a poster above for pointing out Chantelle in the US is very widely used, so it is out for us. I just found on the web the names of Chante/Chantee. However, one english baby website says Chante due to its sounding exactly like the past tense of Chanter the verb, people in France don’t use it. Nevertheless, it is not my goal to have a name that French people use, but I like Chante because it sounds nice, reads/spells easy, and translates perfectly from our chinese name. Do you have any ideas for us?
Please help! ***thanks***
CC from Seattle
Well … I’m not sure that either Chante or Chantee would work, if your goal is to make the name easy for English speakers to pronounce. I think the names would most likely be pronounced CHANT, or maybe chan TEE, not shahn TAY.
I tend to think of Chante with Latoya and Tamika, definitely 1970s/80s names.
Chantelle and Chantal aren’t exactly “widely used” in the US. Chantelle ranked in the US Top 1000 between the 1970s and 1990s, but most years, it hovered around the 900s – meaning just a handful of girls received the name. Chantal was slightly more popular – but only slightly.
That’s to your advantage, though – Chantal and Chantelle are easy for Americans to pronounce, and we’re vaguely familiar with the names. So you get unusual and distinctive, without being a tongue-twister.
Truly, since your goal is to have an easy spelling that relates to the word song, I think you’re best off with Chantal.
A few other options that come to mind are Aria and Lyric. I’d avoid Cadence, Piper, and Harmony – too popular for your tastes, I think, though they’re great names. You might consider something daring, like Minuet or Rhapsody – another reader named her daughter Emmeline Rhapsody – she’s featured in the Name Stories section. There’s also Lyra, which relates to the word “lyre” – but again, appears to be on the rise.
I do keep going back to Chantal. It’s a neat name, and it fits your criteria perfectly. Plus, it was never very popular and there’s no sign of a revival – so your daughter probably would have a truly distinctive name.
If you decide to go with Chante, just be prepared to correct others’ pronunciations. (There’s nothing wrong with that. But some parents do get really upset.)
Best wishes!
Cendrillon is a great name too.
That’s the french translation for “Cinderella”… personally, I wouldn’t do it.
I don’t know, I think it’s kind of tacky to choose a french name if you have no french heritage or connection to France (i.e., if neither of the parents are French). It’s almost as if people are trying really hard to be cosmopolitan or sophisticated. I’m French and my husband is English, and we’ll use a French name, but I find it really funny when Americans use very French names, and have no connections to France.
I know what you mean – I tend to have the same initial reaction to any name that feels imported without a good story. Except that there’s more than one way to have a connection to a place, and names take on additional meanings as they’re used. So borrowing Maelys if you’ve never set foot in France might be a stretch. But Madeleine is a beloved book character, and so mainstream it doesn’t seem forced at all. And sometimes a choice honors a saint, a friend, a trip.
I wouldn’t be surprised to meet a non-French Genevieve, but a non-Russian Svetlana? An Ingrid or Astrid who wasn’t blonde with blue eyes? A Niamh whose parents didn’t have any connection to Ireland? I’m not sure if there’s a good rule of thumb, but some names just feel more portable, less tethered to their origins.
I’ve run into two Ingrids in the past year (a name I really like a lot and was on my longish list with my daughter), and neither was nordic-looking really – one was brunette, the other was a red-head. (But I hear you, I love Svetlana, but would feel like the name would wear as conspicuous on a child of mine.)
That’s a fair point – my siblings and I actually are 1/4 Swedish – but none of us are blonde. And I would have thoroughly enjoyed being an Ingrid.
I’ve always loved the name Leroux, though I’ve never seen it used – just a street name in the town where I live! I would love to name a daughter Francis Leroux.
It’s very cool in the middle spot, Kristine! I know a Loire, but she tells me that everyone calls her Lori. Shame – Loire is quite the cool name, too.
One of my favorite French names is Esme, as in For Esme with Love and Squalor, the JD Salinger short story. It is beautiful and feminine and works well for a middle name. It, too, has a history of being more popular in Scotland than the rest of the UK.
And incidentally, I also adore the name Josephine. I love the antique-y/grandmama names on little ones. And an added bonus for me would be the nickname Posey.
I love Posey as a nn from Josephine! Esme is great, too. I’ve met two little Esmes, and the name wears quite well.
LOL Chantal has to be my equivalent of Sophia or something else in the top 10 in the US. I cannot tell you how many I’ve come across. I like French names a lot, though I do tend avoid them as there are a lot of French names used in my country. Chantal/Chantelle/Chanel are all REALLY popular. This is just one of the reasons why I prefer Celtic names. Out of this list, there were a few that I liked , though most weren’t my taste as they are a bit dated for me.The ones I do liked are either too generic for me. The one I would seriously consider using was Elodie. Genevieve is sweet, but I know one & I dislike -Jen names. Maybe Vivi or Gigi as a nickname
To be honest, Chantal is quite the old lady’s name, and the kind that you would see in an old woman, not a baby. But it still has a nice sound and I suppose it could have a revival…. just not now.
Are there any nicknames associated with the name Yolaine? Thank you.
I’m not sure about nicknames in French-speaking languages, but I’m guessing Lainey/Laney and Lola are the most obvious choices in the US. She’s usually considered a French version of Iolanthe or Yolanda, names related to the violet. Yolanda diminutives include Yoli and Yola, but I can’t see either of those wearing well on an American girl circa 2010.
Thank you.
I like Anais ( Armenian name) Fay
Fraya brielle iam only 14 but i like chooseing names for my cousins
Can I just throw out my name as a thought?
I’ve had debate by real French people over whether or not Janelle is actually French or a Frenchified version of Jane. But either way it has gotten nothing but compliments. And I love all the variant nicknames you can pull out:
Ellie, Nelly, Jane, Jana…
Ooh.. I adore French names — they are to die for! I have a mainly French heritage, so quite a few of these names feature in my combos; with Maelys, Maelle, Genevieve (only the French prn, as Lola expressed!); Elodie & Lilou currently showing. I also like Anais, but its my mn, so unusable.
You forgot Anaelle! (ah-NAH-elle), which is one of my all time favorite French girls!
All these names are a lot fresher than Michelle, Danielle, Nicole, and so on.
Some other names that I saw on the Top 100 for France (2006) that I liked were Clemence, Amandine, and Anaelle.
Hi Sherb – glad you found your way here!
Wow – I really love Elodie. If you don’t mind, I’ll do a specific post to get reactions – I’m afraid this thread is too old to get you much in the way of feedback.
And thanks for the intel on the names of the moment in France. I’ll admit, I love Lilou. Except I like it better as a nickname. 🙂