French is a popular language because almost everything sounds more beautiful when spoken in French. This is definitely true with baby girl names. French girl names often sound lovely, elegant, romantic and strong.
Pretty French Girl Names
These charming French names are a combination of some classic and newer baby names that are popular among French girls and have a variety of meanings.
- Aimée (eh-mee) - "beloved" or "friend"
- Alizée (a-lee-zeh) - "trade wind"
- Aurelie (ah-reh-lee) - "golden"
- Avery, Averi or Averie (Ay-vehr-ee) - "leads with wisdom"
- Blanche (blan-she) - "white" or "fair"
- Cécile (seh-seel) - "blind"
- Céleste (seh-lest) - "heavenly"
- Céline (say-leen) - "moon"
- Chantal (shan-tal) - "stony"
- Charlène (shar-lehn) - "man" or "warrior"
- Claudette (klo-deht) - "crippled"
- Clotilde (klow-teelde) - "famous battle"
- Coralie (kaw-ra-lee) - "coral"
- Cosette (ko-zeht) - "little thing"Désirée (deh-zee-rey) - "desired"
- Éloïse (eh-low-eez) - "sun"
- Esmé (ez-may) - "esteemed"
- Estelle (ehs-tehl) - "star"
- Évelyne (ehv-leen) - "a wished for child"
- Fabiola (fah-bee-o-lah) - "lovely bean"
- Félicie (feh-lee-see) - "lucky" or "successful"
- Ghyslaine (ghees-lehn) - "pledge" or "hostage"
- Gisèle or Giselle (zhee-zehl) - "pledge" or "hostage"
- Constance (kah-stehns) - "constancy"
- Héloïse (ehl-low-eez) - "healthy"
- Inès (ee-nehs) - "chaste"
- Jacquette (zha-ket) - "he who supplants"
- Jolie - (zho-lee) - "pretty"
- Justine (zhus-teen) - "fair" or "righteous"
- Léna (leh-na) - "she that allures"
- Louise (leu-weese) - "famed warrior"
- Lucie (loo-see) - "light"
- Manon (ma-nawn) - "bitter" or "wished for child"
- Melisande (may-lee-sond) - "strong worker"
- Mireille (mee-ray) - "to admire"
- Noémie (naw-eh-mee) - "pleasantness"
- Océane (oh-say-on) - "from the ocean"
- Oriane or Orianne (aw-ryan) - "gold"
- Philomène (fee-law-mehn) - "strong friend" or "loved"
- Romane (raw-man) - "Roman"
- Ségolène (seh-gaw-lehn) - "soft victory"
- Séraphine (seh-ra-feen) - "fiery ones"
- Sigourney (si-gawr-nee) - unknown meaning, popularized by actress Sigourney Weaver
- Tiphaine (tee-fehn) - "manifestation of God"
- Yseult (ee-selt) - "ice battle"
- Zoé (zaw-eh) - "life"
Classic French Girl Names
There are some female names that immediately come to mind when one thinks of French girls. These classics may be more common than other names but that doesn't make them any less desirable as name choices.
- Anaïs (a-na-ees) - "grace" or "beauty"
- Béatrice (beh-a-trees) - "traveller"
- Bernadette (behr-na-deht) - "brave bear"
- Charlotte (shar-lot-te) - "unrestricted"
- Claire (klehr) - "clear," "bright," or "famous"
- Émilie (eh-mee-lee) - "rival"
- Françoise (frahn-swaz) - "Frenchwoman"
- Geneviève (zhen-eh-vyehv) - "woman of the race or family"
- Hélène (eh-lehne) - "torch" or "moon"
- Joséphine (zho-seh-feen) - "he will add"
- Lourdes (lawrd) - a town in France
- Margaux, Margot or Margo (mar-go) - "pearl"
- Marielle (ma-ryehl) - French form of "Mary" meaning "rebellious," "bitter" or "a wished for child"
- Monique (maw-neek) - "to advise"
- Odette (aw-deht) - "wealth" or "fortune"
- Pénélope (peh-neh-lawp) - "duck"
- Renée (ru-neh) - "born again"
- Simone (see-mawn) - "he has heard"
- Sophie (saw-fee) - "wisdom"
- Thérèse (teh-rehz) - "summer" or "harvest"
- Véronique (veh-rawn-eek) - "true image"
- Vivianne (vee-vyan) - "alive"
Lovely French Female Names From Flowers and Plants
Many pretty French girl names come from a beautiful source of inspiration, namely flowers and nature. These names may sound familiar as they are often double as the names of flowers and trees.
- Aeris (eyr-ees) - "earth full of flowers"
- Antoinette (ahn-twa-neht) - "praiseworthy" or "beautiful flower"
- Camélia (ka-meh-lya) - A type of flower
- Capucine (ka-puy-seen) - "nasturtium"
- Chloé (kloe-eh) - "green shoot"
- Clémentine (kleh-mahn-teen) - "merciful" or "gentle;" also a flower
- Daphné (daf-neh) - "laurel"
- Fleur (flehr) - "flower"
- Hyacinthe (ya-sehnt) - after the hyacinth flower
- Jasmine (jaz-min) - from the jasmine flower
- Laurette (lore-ett) - "laurel"
- Laverne (leh-vurn) - "alder tree"
- Narcisse (nar-sees) - after the narcissus flower
- Rosalie (raw-zah-lee) - "rose"
- Suzette (su-zeht) - "lily" or "rose"
- Sylvie (seel-vee) - "woods" or "forest"
- Violette (vyaw-leht) - after the violet flower
- Yolande (yaw-lahnd) - "violet flower"
Religious French Girl Names
If you would like a more religiously inspired name for your little girl, these French girl names all have a basis in the Judeo-Christian religions.
- Alienor (a-lyeh-nawr) - "God is my light"
- Arielle (a-ryehl) - "lion of god"
- Babette (bah-bet) - "my God is an oath"
- Benoîte (bu-nwat) - "blessed"
- Danièle (da-nyehl) - "God is my judge"
- Élise (eh-leez) - "my God is an oath"
- Emmanuelle (eh-man-wehl) - "God is with us"
- Gabrielle (ga-bree-yell) - "God is my hero"
- Isabeau (iz-a-bow) - "my God is an oath"
- Jeanne (zhen) - "God is gracious"
- Joëlle (zhaw-ell) - "Yahweh is God"
- Lizette or Lisette (lee-zeht) - "consecrated to God"
- Madeline (mah-lehn) - "of Magdala" from Mary Magdalene in the Bible's New Testament
- Michelle (mee-shell) - "who is like God"
- Nathalie (na-tah-lee) - "born at Christmas"
- Noèle or Noëlle (naw-ehl) - "Christmas"
- Solange (saw-lahnzh) - "religious"
Beautiful Female French Names for a Princess
Some French girl names are truly noble, as they have meanings that relate to higher stations such as princesses and queens.
- Adélaïde (a-deh-la-eed) - "noble type"
- Adéle (a-dehl) or Adélie (a-dehl-ee) - "noble"
- Alice, Alys, or Aleis (a-lees) - "person of nobility"
- Eugénie (you-zheh-nee) - "well born"
- Maëlle (ma-ehl) - "princess"
- Patrice (paw-treez) - "noble"
- Reine (rehn) - "queen"
Finding the Prettiest French Girl Name for Your Baby
French-inspired baby names have mass appeal as they sound lovely and sophisticated when spoken and look equally elegant when written out. A French name for your little girl can be an excellent choice if you're looking for a romantic and beautiful name with classical flair.
