Having a baby is one of the most beautiful things in life. One of the most important and fun parts of waiting for the birth is to pick a name. There are so many names to choose from! Instead of having a boring English name that 50 other babies in your neighbourhood will have, why not choose a French baby name instead? Here are the 40 most popular French baby names right now.
Your family and friends will be impressed with your exotic name choice and honestly, these names are beautiful and will fit with any baby whether it is English or French.
Baby Names for a Girl
Here are 20 of the most popular French baby names for girls.
Emma
Emma has always been a popular name in France and even in Europe. Many French queens were named Emma, like Emma de France, the first Frankish queen who is known to have been crowned. This name could have a Germanic root, since the world “ermin” means “omnipotence” or “mighty power”.
Louise
In 2017 and in 2018, it was the most popular name in France. And it’s no surprise, since it’s the feminine form of Louis, another famous French name given to kings… The name Louise was very popular in the 1900s but declined after the 70s. Maybe it’s time to bring it back?
Jade
You might know that “jade” is the name of the green precious stone. But did you know that the world is derived from Spanish “(piedra de la) ijada” meaning “(stone of the) flank”, relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic?
Alice
Alice is famous thanks to the heroine of Lewis Caroll in “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland”. It comes from the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis.
Léa
Léa is the French form of Leah, which means “lioness of wisdom” in Hebrew. In Latin, lea means “lioness”. Two bold significations for a beautiful name and one of the most popular French baby names.
Mila
This isn’t a classic French name, but Mila became popular around 2000, maybe thanks to the actress Milla Jovovich. Or maybe not! This diminutive of Ludmila comes from the Slavic word “ljudi”, the people, and “milo”, loved. Mila is “loved by the people”!
Camille
Camille is a mixed first name, although it’s mostly given to girls. This name comes from the Latin “camillus or camilla”, which means “young man or girl of good family” and is designating the young Romans who attended the high priest during the sacrifices.
Manon
The name Manon might come from the names Marie and Marie-Anne or from the Hebrew name Myriam. Either way, it’s a beautiful name and it became really popular in the 80s.
Inès
Do you know someone named Inès? This name comes from the Latin “agnus”, which means “lamb”, or from the Greek “agnos”, which means “pure”. It’s been very popular in France since the 90s.
Romane
It’s easy to guess the origins of this name. Romane comes from the Latin “romanus”, which means “Romane”. And it’s the feminine version of the name “Romain”!
Chloé
This name means “young plant” in Greek, and it was the epithet used for the Greek goddess of Earth, Demeter. The name Chloé is constantly on the rise and has been in the top 5 female names since the 2000s.
Léna
The name Lena is of Greek origin and comes from the word “hêlé”, which means “radiance of the sun”. You can write it “Lena” or “Léna”, but the first version tends to be less popular these days.
Éléna
Well, we already wrote about the origins of the name Léna, and to be honest, Éléna has the same Greek roots… It comes from the Greek “hêlé”, which means “radiance of the sun”. It’s a very luminous name!
Léonie
You might already know this : retro names are back in fashion. The name Léonie comes from the Latin “leo” meaning “lion”. Between the 50s and the 80s, this name was completely forgotten, but it’s now on the rise.
Rose
This one seems pretty obvious. The name rose should come from “roas”, the Latin word for the flower “rose”. But it might also be a Norman form of a Germanic name, which was composed of the elements “hrod”, for “fame, and “heid”, which means “kind, sort, type”. It used to be written “Roese” or “Rohese”.
Zoé
In Greek, the word “zoè” means “life”. But the name’s origin comes from further, because it is the translation of the Hebrew word “h’ava” in Greek, which forms the name Zoé (and recalls the name Eve, in French).
Clémence
This name comes from the Latin “clemens”, which means “soft”, “lenient”. It lost some popularity between the 60s and 70s, but came back in fashion in the 90s. It has been in the top 50 for years…
Sarah
This name comes from “saray” and means “lady, princess” in Hebrew. The popularity of this name is slowly declining after hitting the top 10 for years.
Laura
Laura is the feminine form of the Late Latin name “Laurus”, which meant “laurel”. This meaning is favourable, since in ancient Rome, the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors’ garlands.
Juliette
It’s the feminine version of the name “Jules”, which comes from “Julius”. Yes, like the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. Obviously, it’s a powerful name. It has always been popular in France, despite a short decline in the 60s.
Baby Names for a Boy
Here are 20 of the most popular French baby names for boys.
Gabriel
The name Gabriel comes from the Hebrew words “gabor” and “el”, which means “God’s strength”. In Hebrew tradition, Gabriel is an archangel who is often appearing as a messenger of God.
Louis
Louis comes from the Germanic world “hold”, which means “famous” and “wig”, which means “combat”. So it’s no surprise that many French kings were named Louis, since it means “illustrious in combat”.
Léo
If you want your little boy to be the king of the jungle, the name Léo is perfect. It comes from the Latin word “leo”, which means “lion”. With or without the accent on the letter “e”, it’s a very popular name.
Adam
It’s pretty easy to guess the meaning of the name Adam, since he and Eve were supposedly the first humans, according to Genesis in the Old Testament. Adam is the Hebrew word for “man”. It could be ultimately derived from the Hebrew word for Adam, meaning “to be red”.
Thomas
This popular name is the Greek form of the Aramaic name תָּאוֹמָא (“Ta’oma’”) which means “twin”. Often, the diminutive “Tom” is used.
Félix
What a lovely name for a boy! It comes from a Roman cognomen meaning “lucky, successful” in Latin. You’ll be sure that your baby starts his life with a good sign…
Nathan
The name Nathan comes from the Hebrew name נָתָן (Natan), which means “he gave”. In France, it became popular at the end of the 90s.
Jules
We all know that one of the most famous “Jules” is Julius Caesar… Indeed, this name comes from a Roman family name, which was possibly derived from Greek ιουλος (ioulos) meaning “downy-bearded”.
Raphaël
The name Raphael comes from the Hebrew “rephael”, meaning “God has healed”.
Théo
Théo comes from the Greek “theos” and means “God”. Although the name Theo is a full name, it can be the diminutive of Théodore or Théophile.
Maël
Maël is a name of Breton origin, and was derived from a Celtic word meaning “chief” and “prince”. His feminine form are Maëlle and Maelys.
Valentin
Valentin comes from the Roman cognomen “Valentinus”, which was itself originated from the name “Valens” meaning “strong, healthy” in Latin.
Tom
Just like the full name “Thomas”, this diminutive comes from the Greek form of the word “Ta’oma’”, which means “twin”.
Sacha
That’s a very interesting name, coming from “Sasha”, the Russian diminutive of the name “Aleksandr”. And the name Alexandre comes from the Greek words “alexein” (defend) and “andros” (man, enemy).
Aaron
The name Aaron is of Hebrew origin. It is a derivative of the Hebrew name Aharon, meaning “of the mountain”.
Paul
Paul was a very popular name among early Christians. It comes from the Roman family name Paulus, which meant “small” or “humble” in Latin. It has always been in the 100 most popular French baby names, except shortly during the 70s.
Mathis
Mathis is the German and French form of the name Matthias, also spelled Mathias. It’s a transcription of the Hebrew “Matityahu”, meaning “gift of god”.
Maxence
French form of the Roman name Maxentius, Maxence is a derivative of the Latin word “maximus”, meaning “greatest”. It’s a great name to have.
Lucas
Derived from the name Luc, the name Lucas comes from the Latin word “lux”, meaning “light”.
Hugo
Hugo is the Latinized version of the name Hugh. It comes from the Germanic element “hug”, meaning “heart, mind, spirit”. It has been very popular since the 80s and has been in the 10 most popular French baby names for 20 years.
Which name do you like the most? Would you rather use one of the most popular French baby names or find a unique name for your baby?
