French names are pretty and unique – just like your baby. So instead of giving your child and old or outdated name, give them a name that’s beautiful, modern, and really reflects who they are. From 3-syllable names to 3-letter names, read on for a hundred of the best French girl baby names you can choose from!
RELATED: Androgynous, Gender-Neutral, & Boy Names For Your Baby Girl
Beautiful French Girl Names For Your Baby
Starting With A
Abella, Adele, Adeline, Agatha, Aimee, Alice, Alison, Amelie, Anais, Antoinette, Audrey
Fun fact: Amelie, starring actress Audrey Tautou, is a French critically-acclaimed, box office hit rom-com. It’s considered one of the best movies ever made by The New York Times, Empire, and BBC Magazine.
Famous namesakes: Agatha Christie, Anais Nin, Audrey Hepburn, Audrey Tautou
Starting With B
Bella, Bernadette, Blaise, Brigitte
Fun fact: The name Bella means ‘beautiful’. You can also use Belle, Isabelle, or Isabella to mean the same thing.
Famous namesakes: Brigitte Bardot, Bella Hadid, Bernadette Peters
Starting With C
Camille, Cecile, Celeste, Celia, Charlotte, Chloe, Clara, Claudette
Fun fact: Cecile was the name of Selma Blair’s character in Cruel Intentions.
Famous namesakes: Charlotte Bronte, Chloe Sevigny, Chloe Grace-Moretz
Starting With D
Danielle, Delphine, Diane, Dominique
Fun fact: ‘Dominique’ is the feminised version of the name ‘Dominic’, which comes from ‘Dominicus’, the Latin word for ‘God’ or ‘the Lord’.
Famous namesakes: Danielle Panabaker, Diane Sawyer
Starting With E
Ella, Elaina, Elodie, Eloise, Esmee, Estelle
Fun fact: One of the most famous Esmees in contemporary pop culture is from the book/film Twilight. Esmee is Edward Cullen’s mum.
Famous namesakes: Ella Fitzgerald, Estelle
Starting With F
Fae, Felicity, Fleur, Floria, Francesca, Francine
Fun fact: Both Fleur and Floria are derived from the Latin word for ‘flower’.
Famous namesakes: Felicity Jone
Starting With G
Gabrielle, Genevieve, Gigi, Giselle
Fun fact: Giselle is an old classic that’s considered one of the greatest masterpieces in ballet. It was written and first performed in France.
Famous namesakes: Gigi Hadid, Gabrielle Union
Starting With H
Harriett, Helene, Holly
Fun fact: Helene (which today is commonly stylised as Helena or simply Helen) is derived from the Ancient Greek name meaning ‘torch’, ‘light’, or ‘bright one’. It’s also possible that Helene is derived from Selene, the Greek name for ‘moon’.
Famous namesakes: Harriet Tubman
Starting With I
Ila, Ines, Isabelle
Fun fact: Ines comes from the Portuguese but it is also traditionally found in Spain and France as well; it means ‘pure, chaste, and virginal’. It’s a different form of the name ‘Agnes’.
Famous namesakes: Isabelle Fuhrman
Starting With J
Jacquelyn, Joanna, Josephine, Jules, Juliette
Fun fact: Juliette and Jules are diminutive forms of the name ‘Julie”, which means ‘son of Jove’ or ‘of Julius’.
Famous namesakes: Josephine Baker, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Starting With K
Kathleen, Katheryn/Katherine, Kay
Fun fact: The name Kay means ‘pure and clear’. In Arthurian legends, Sir Kay is one of the Knights of the Round Table. Other cultures may stylise it as Cai or Cei.
Famous namesakes: Katharine Hepburn, Katherine Heigl, Katherine Langford
Starting With L
Lea, Lisette, Louise, Lucie
Fun fact: Lea is in the top 500 most popular French female names for 2019, and is usually in the world’s top 1000 every year.
Famous namesakes: Lea Salonga, Lea Michele, Lea Thompson, Lea Seydoux
Starting With M
Madeline, Manon, Margaux/Margot, Marguerite, Marie, Mathilde, Monique
Fun fact: Madeline was a children’s book series that later got turned into a cute and iconic animated TV show.
Famous namesakes: Marie Curie, Margot Robbie, Marie Antoinette
Starting With N
Nadine, Natalie, Nicolette, Noelle
Fun fact: ‘Noelle’ comes from ‘Noel’, which means Christmas in French. Parents typically choose this name for babies whose birthdays fall in December.
Famous namesakes: Natalie Portman, Noelle Stevenson
Starting With O
Odette, Odile
Fun fact: The most famous Odette is a fictional one – she’s the main character in Tchaikovsky’s ballet masterpiece Swan Lake.
Famous namesakes: Saint Odile, Odette Annable
Starting With P
Paige, Patrice, Paulette
Fun fact: Paige is an androgynous name that can be used for either men or women.
Famous namesakes: Paulette Goddard, Paige McKenzie
Starting With R
Rachelle, Raissa, Renee, Rosamonde, Roselyn, Roxanne, Ruby
Fun fact: Roxanne is the main character’s love interest in the classic French play Cyrano de Bergerac.
Famous namesakes: Ruby Rose, Rachelle Ann Go, Renee Zellweger
Starting With S
Selena, Simone, Sofia/Sophie, Solange, Stella, Suzanne, Sylvie
Fun fact: Sofia/Sophia is one of the most popular French women’s names in the world; it’s usually in the annual top 10 for Italy, Spain, and the US.
Famous namesakes: Simone de Beauvoir, Solange Knowles, Sofia Boutella
Starting With T
Therese, Tilda
Fun fact: ‘Tilda’ actually comes from the German ‘Matilda’, but it became popular in France as well.
Famous namesakes: Tilda Swinton
Starting With V
Valerie, Veronique, Violet/Violette, Vivienne
Fun fact: The Zutons wrote a song called “Valerie” in 2006. Amy Winehouse’s 2007 cover reached #2 in the charts.
Famous namesakes: Vivienne Westwood, Violet Chachki
Starting With Y
Ygraine, Yvette, Yvonne
Fun fact: Ygraine (sometimes spelled Igraine) was, according to legend, King Arthur’s mother.
Famous namesakes: Yvonne Strahovski
Ma Petite Fille
Name trends come and go, but French female names will always be timeless. You, your family, your friends, and your baby girl will love a French name, so if you’re expecting, make sure to put a few at the top of your ‘baby names’ list.
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