The guide to French girl names [with 437 names with audio]

We'll start by looking at some common patterns in French girl names and discuss their origins. If you would like, you can skip directly to the list of 437 French female names with audio recordings at the end of this article.

Introduction to French female names

Most French female names end with the letter ‘e’. In fact, we have analyzed several hundred of the most commonly used French female names and found that approximately 84% of these names end with the vowel ‘e’.

Spanish female names, in contrast, end with the letter ‘a’ in most cases.

French English Spanish
Marie Mary María
Emilie Emily Emilia
Lucie Lucy Lucía
Sandrine Sandra Sandra
Brigitte Bridget Brígida
Jeanne Joan Juana
Véronique Veronica Verónica
Françoise Frances Francisca
Virginie Virginia Virginia
Marguerite Margaret Margarita
Cécile Cecilia Cecilia

In French, female names often end in ‘e’; in Spanish, they often end in ‘a’. These patterns in name endings reflect broader linguistic patterns across French and Spanish vocabulary words.

In French, a final ‘e’ can indicate the feminine form of a word; this distinguishes the word “ami” (male friend) from “amie” (female friend). In the same way, the masculine adjective “petit” (meaning “small”) is converted to its feminine form, “petite”, by adding an ‘e’ at the end.

Spanish, in contrast, uses the letter ‘a’ to indicate the feminine form. For example, to convert the masculine noun “amigo” (friend) to its feminine form, “amiga”, the final ‘o’ is replaced with an ‘a’.

The origins of French female names

From Latin

French is a language that evolved from Latin, so it is not surprising that many French names come from Latin.

We have estimated that 33% of French girl names originate from Latin (this does not count names that entered the French language from Ancient Greek or Hebrew via Latin).

From Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek and Latin are languages that were in very close contact over a long period of time. The Romans and Greeks often came into conflict, and by the middle of the second century BCE, Greece had been incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Many Ancient Greek words, including names, entered the Latin language; that is how many of them entered the French language.

We have estimated that 20% of French girl names come from Greek. Here are some examples:

From Hebrew

18% of French girl names come from Hebrew. Here are some examples:

From Germanic languages

An estimated 14% of French girl names originate from Germanic languages.

This might seem surprising given that French is a Romance language (and not a Germanic language). But during the early Middle Ages, Germanic tribes, such as the Franks, settled in regions that are now part of modern France.

The name Clotilde, for example, was in use during that time: there was a Queen of the Franks named Clotilde. Here are more examples of French female names that come from Germanic languages:

From Celtic languages

8% of French girl names originate from Celtic languages. Many of these come from Breton, a Celtic language that originates from Brittany (the westernmost region of France).

Compound names

Compound names are fairly common in French. These names consist of two separate names combined into one; in French, they are called “prénoms composés”.

In French, compound names are hyphenated, whereas in Spanish and Italian, they are generally not hyphenated; for example: “Ana María” in Spanish, “Anna Maria” in Italian, but “Anne-Marie” (with a hyphen) in French.

In French, many of the most common female compound names have Marie or Anne as one of their components (generally as the first component).

Here is a list of some compound female names that are common in French:

In almost all cases, French female compound names consist of a combination of two female names. The name Marie-Pierre, however, is an exception: the second component, Pierre, is a male name.

French girl names that correspond to French words

A few French female names correspond to the capitalized form of French vocabulary words.

Several of these are flower or plant names in addition to being girl names. These include: Marguerite (which means “daisy”), Capucine (another type of flower), Violette (violet, a purple flower), Fleur (the French word for “flower”) and Marjolaine (marjoram, an aromatic herb).

Name Translation
Marguerite Daisy
Violette Violet
Capucine Nasturtium
Aurore Dawn
Fleur Flower
Victoire Victory
Clémence Clemency
Constance Constancy
Marjolaine Marjoram

List of 437 French female names

Audio recordings: the French girl names in this list have audio recordings. You can hear their pronunciation by clicking on them.

  1. Marie
  2. Nathalie
  3. Sylvie
  4. Isabelle
  5. Stéphanie
  6. Martine
  7. Valérie
  8. Sandrine
  9. Catherine
  10. Brigitte
  11. Monique
  12. Jeanne
  13. Véronique
  14. Nicole
  15. Françoise
  16. Aurélie
  17. Céline
  18. Chantal
  19. Christelle
  20. Corinne
  21. Jacqueline
  22. Danielle
  23. Christiane
  24. Laurence
  25. Annie
  26. Sophie
  27. Jeannine
  28. Léa
  29. Virginie
  30. Michèle
  31. Madeleine
  32. Julie
  33. Suzanne
  34. Marguerite
  35. Yvonne
  36. Marcelle
  37. Pascale
  38. Denise
  39. Germaine
  40. Manon
  41. Marine
  42. Paulette
  43. Yvette
  44. Odette
  45. Evelyne
  46. Delphine
  47. Renée
  48. Simone
  49. Nadine
  50. Marion
  51. Andrée
  52. Fabienne
  53. Josiane
  54. Anne
  55. Josette
  56. Colette
  57. Anaïs
  58. Annick
  59. Claudine
  60. Jocelyne
  61. Lucienne
  62. Océane
  63. Carole
  64. Béatrice
  65. Pauline
  66. Joëlle
  67. Mélanie
  68. Micheline
  69. Georgette
  70. Thérèse
  71. Justine
  72. Cécile
  73. Liliane
  74. Mathilde
  75. Bernadette
  76. Geneviève
  77. Mireille
  78. Amandine
  79. Marie-Christine
  80. Marthe
  81. Henriette
  82. Gisèle
  83. Lucie
  84. Carine
  85. Amélie
  86. Eliane
  87. Hélène
  88. Huguette
  89. Magali
  90. Anne-Marie
  91. Claire
  92. Ophélie
  93. Agnès
  94. Chloé
  95. Lilou
  96. Emmanuelle
  97. Sabine
  98. Marie-Thérèse
  99. Aurore
  100. Muriel
  101. Fanny
  102. Arlette
  103. Mélissa
  104. Adeline
  105. Romane
  106. Diane
  107. Marie-Claude
  108. Fernande
  109. Ghislaine
  110. Eugénie
  111. Juliette
  112. Francine
  113. Estelle
  114. Marie-France
  115. Margaux
  116. Coralie
  117. Odile
  118. Pierrette
  119. Janine
  120. Frédérique
  121. Clémence
  122. Lucette
  123. Sylviane
  124. Laure
  125. Régine
  126. Viviane
  127. Maryvonne
  128. Murielle
  129. Gabrielle
  130. Aline
  131. Solange
  132. Charlène
  133. Irène
  134. Claudette
  135. Maëlys
  136. Gilberte
  137. Angèle
  138. Agathe
  139. Antoinette
  140. Margot
  141. Louane
  142. Marie-José
  143. Augustine
  144. Ludivine
  145. Laurine
  146. Yolande
  147. Marie-Hélène
  148. Victoire
  149. Mauricette
  150. Valentine
  151. Léonie
  152. Emilienne
  153. Marie-Laure
  154. Adèle
  155. Marie-Pierre
  156. Anne-Sophie
  157. Blanche
  158. Magalie
  159. Lydie
  160. Marie-Claire
  161. Solène
  162. Emeline
  163. Maud
  164. Flavie
  165. Rolande
  166. Paule
  167. Marjorie
  168. Marie-Françoise
  169. Alix
  170. Noémie
  171. Aude
  172. Marielle
  173. Léane
  174. Léana
  175. Marie-Line
  176. Marie-Louise
  177. Mylène
  178. Adrienne
  179. Capucine
  180. Lucile
  181. Annette
  182. Alizée
  183. Séverine
  184. Léontine
  185. France
  186. Salomé
  187. Anne-Laure
  188. Noëlle
  189. Marlène
  190. Faustine
  191. Floriane
  192. Charline
  193. Julienne
  194. Roselyne
  195. Marianne
  196. Lise
  197. Loane
  198. Apolline
  199. Soline
  200. Cécilia
  201. Clarisse
  202. Angélique
  203. Marie-Paule
  204. Maëlle
  205. Marie-Noëlle
  206. Clémentine
  207. Reine
  208. Claudie
  209. Perrine
  210. Aimée
  211. Armelle
  212. Roxane
  213. Gaëlle
  214. Céleste
  215. Gwenaelle
  216. Zélie
  217. Ninon
  218. Victorine
  219. Léone
  220. Héloïse
  221. Tiphaine
  222. Marie-Jeanne
  223. Eveline
  224. Rosalie
  225. Sylvette
  226. Constance
  227. Laëtitia
  228. Roseline
  229. Méline
  230. Lylou
  231. Jeannette
  232. Marinette
  233. Augusta
  234. Nicolle
  235. Lou-Anne
  236. Yveline
  237. Cyrielle
  238. Louisette
  239. Anny
  240. Blandine
  241. Marie-Ange
  242. Florine
  243. Enola
  244. Anaëlle
  245. Joséphine
  246. Lison
  247. Clotilde
  248. Maïssa
  249. Lauriane
  250. Marie-Odile
  251. Mallaury
  252. Priscillia
  253. Marie-Madeleine
  254. Laly
  255. Cassandre
  256. Lysiane
  257. Doriane
  258. Maëva
  259. Marie-Josephe
  260. Marie-Chantal
  261. Laurene
  262. Marilyne
  263. Élise
  264. Bérénice
  265. Alexandrine
  266. Géraldine
  267. Nadège
  268. Violette
  269. Janique
  270. Rose-Marie
  271. Marie-Anne
  272. Lucille
  273. Naëlle
  274. Lalie
  275. Hortense
  276. Louanne
  277. Chrystel
  278. Célestine
  279. Giselle
  280. Guylaine
  281. Marie-Rose
  282. Éléonore
  283. Florie
  284. Marie-Annick
  285. Maëlya
  286. Dorothée
  287. Marie-Agnès
  288. Christianne
  289. Émilie
  290. Marjolaine
  291. Maylis
  292. Mégane
  293. Charlotte
  294. Florence
  295. Danièle
  296. Pascaline
  297. Ségolène
  298. Armande
  299. Violaine
  300. Anne-Lise
  301. Maëly
  302. Sylvaine
  303. Marylou
  304. Raphaëlle
  305. Auriane
  306. Marie-Dominique
  307. Rejane
  308. Maëlyne
  309. Anne-Charlotte
  310. Noélie
  311. Anne-Claire
  312. Marie-Bernadette
  313. Cendrine
  314. Daphné
  315. Aliénor
  316. Élodie
  317. Marie-Charlotte
  318. Maëline
  319. Déborah
  320. Noeline
  321. Josseline
  322. Flore
  323. Tiphanie
  324. Yvelise
  325. Laury
  326. Ariane
  327. Bénédicte
  328. Aurélia
  329. Magdeleine
  330. Marie-Amélie
  331. Lorine
  332. Solenne
  333. Maëlie
  334. Anne-Cécile
  335. Isaure
  336. Éline
  337. Maïlys
  338. Clélia
  339. Mélodie
  340. Octavie
  341. Éva
  342. Laurette
  343. Armandine
  344. Marie-Antoinette
  345. Marie-Andrée
  346. Sidonie
  347. Eliette
  348. Marie-Lise
  349. Harmonie
  350. Honorine
  351. Clothilde
  352. Éloïse
  353. Marie-Lou
  354. Sixtine
  355. Typhaine
  356. Noéline
  357. Éléa
  358. Anaë
  359. Prune
  360. Alexane
  361. Fantine
  362. Élina
  363. Ysée
  364. Bertille
  365. Marie-Laurence
  366. Pénélope
  367. Émy
  368. Énora
  369. Léonore
  370. Maurane
  371. Marie-Pascale
  372. Baptistine
  373. Abigaëlle
  374. Castille
  375. Maëlia
  376. Lorraine
  377. Marie-Joëlle
  378. Maïly
  379. Fleur
  380. Gaëtane
  381. Marie-Cécile
  382. Marie-Luce
  383. Madeline
  384. Mélody
  385. Mahaut
  386. Sélène
  387. Élisa
  388. Marie-Catherine
  389. Florentine
  390. Naïs
  391. Annaëlle
  392. Leïna
  393. Élia
  394. Laurène
  395. Hélèna
  396. Téa
  397. Cerise
  398. Eulalie
  399. Athénaïs
  400. Adélaïde
  401. Églantine
  402. Eléanore
  403. Marie-Eve
  404. Maélie
  405. Félicité
  406. Ombeline
  407. Gwenaëlle
  408. Antonine
  409. Marie-Martine
  410. Léanna
  411. Domitille
  412. Marie-Aude
  413. Anne-Gaëlle
  414. Émie
  415. Jeanne-Marie
  416. Yaël
  417. Anne-Catherine
  418. Colombe
  419. Bérengère
  420. Abigaël
  421. Marie-Reine
  422. Laureline
  423. Adélie
  424. Carole-Anne
  425. Ameline
  426. Maélys
  427. Zoé
  428. Inès
  429. Ève
  430. Philomène
  431. Maïwen
  432. Rose
  433. Perle
  434. Aliette
  435. Chrystèle
  436. Lorette
  437. Lilianne