French names that start with the letter 'C'
French names that start with the letter ‘C’ don't all begin with the same sound. In French, the letter 'C' is pronounced in different ways, depending on the letter that follows it.
French names like Camille, Claude, and Clémence have a hard 'C' sound, similar to the letter 'K'. In contrast, names like Céline, Cécile, and Célestine have a soft 'C' sound that resembles an 'S'.
In addition, names like Charlène and Chantal start with the whisper-like “sh” sound that is produced by the letter combination 'ch' in French.
French girl names that start with 'C'
French girl names that start with the letter 'C' can be classified into several groups. The first group consists of those where the 'C' has a soft sound, resembling the letter 'S'.
- Céline: Céline (or Celine) is a French girl’s name that originates from the Latin word “caelestīna,” meaning “celestial,” itself derived from the word “caelum,” meaning “sky”.
- Cécile
- Cécilia
- Célia
- Celestine (or Célestine)
- Cyrielle: Cyrielle is the feminine form of the masculine name Cyril.
In French, the letter combination ‘ch’ can produce a sound resembling the ‘sh’ sound in English. So among French girl names that start with ‘C’, there are some which begin with a whispering “shh..” sound.
- Charlène
- Charline
- Chantal (alternate spelling: Chantale)
- Charlotte
Another group of French girl names that start with the letter 'C' is those where the 'C' has a hard sound, resembling the letter 'K'.
- Catherine: Catherine is a rather international name that is quite popular in France. For example, it’s the name of the famous French actress Catherine Deneuve.
- Christine: The French name Christine is derived from the Latin name “Christina,” which is the feminine form of “Christianus” — which refers to a believer in Christianity.
- Christelle: Christelle is a French name that has many different forms based on different spellings, for instance: Christel, Chrystel, Cristelle, Christèle, and Chrystelle.
- Corinne: Corinne is the French spelling of the name of an ancient Greek poetess from the 6th century BCE. Later, in 19th-century Europe, this name gained broad recognition, following the publication of a French novel titled “Corinne ou l'Italie” by Madame de Staël.
- Christiane
- Camille: In French, Camille is both a girl’s name and a boy’s name. An example of a famous woman with this name is Camille Claudel, a French sculptor who collaborated with Auguste Rodin. An example of a man with this name is Camille Saint-Saëns, a highly regarded French composer.
- Chloé (alternate spelling: Cloé)
- Colette
- Claudine
- Caroline
- Carole
- Clara
- Carine: Carine is a French female name derived from the Latin word “carus,” meaning “beloved” or “dear.”
- Claire
- Coralie
- Clémence: Clémence is a French name that comes from Clementia, the goddess of clemency and forgiveness in Roman mythology.
- Claudette: Claudette is a diminutive form of the name Claude. It is one of many French names that end in “ette”.
- Claude: In French, Claude is both a female and a male name. Famous men with this name include Claude Monet, the French impressionist painter, as well as Claude Debussy, a famous French composer. A famous woman with this name is Claude Pompidou, the wife of Georges Pompidou who was a president of France.
- Capucine: In French, Capucine is both a girl’s name and the name of a type of flower.
- Corine
- Clarisse
- Clémentine
- Claudie
- Constance: Derived from the Latin word “constantia,” meaning “steadfastness” or “firmness,” the name Constance evokes qualities of strength and unwavering character.
- Carmen: Carmen is a name derived from the Latin word “carmen” meaning “song” or “poem”. While it's more popular in Spain than in France, it got a boost from Georges Bizet's well-known opera with the same name.
- Clotilde (alternate spelling: Clothilde)
- Cassandre: Cassandre is the French form of the Latin name Cassandra.
- Coraline
- Camélia: Camélia is a French female name that is also the name of a type of flower.
- Christianne
- Cléo: Cléo is a French name that is derived from the Greek word kléos meaning “glory”. It appears in the title of a French movie from the 1960s titled “Cléo de 5 à 7”. The name Cléo and the name Cloé are anagrams. They are rearrangements of each other's letters.
- Clea
In French, many names begin with the letter ‘C’ because the letter ‘K’ is rarely used in French. In fact, none of the thousand most common French words contain the letter ‘K’. As a result, names that begin with ‘K’ in some Germanic languages have French equivalents that start with ‘C’.
French boy’s names that start with 'C'
- Christophe: Christophe is the French equivalent of the English name Christopher.
- Christian: An example of a French person with this name is Christian Dior, the renowned fashion designer and founder of the iconic fashion brand, Dior.
- Claude: Claude is a French unisex name but it is a bit more common as a male name nowadays. There are some well-known French artists named Claude, for instance, Claude Monet (the impressionist painter) and Claude Debussy (the composer).
- Clément
- Charles: Some examples of well-known French individuals who are named Charles are: Charles de Gaulle (former President of France), Charles Baudelaire (poet), and Charles Trenet (singer).
- Cyril: The French name Cyril (which can also be spelled as “Cyrille”) comes from the ancient Greek word “kyrios,” which refers to a lord or a master.
- Corentin: Corentin is a French name of Breton origin. In French literature, Corentin is the name of a policeman who appears in several of Balzac’s novels.
- Camille: Camille is a unisex French name but it is more common as a girl’s name than as a boy’s name.
- Cédric: Cédric is a name that appeared in France during the 19th century. Some well-known people with this name include Cédric Klapisch, a French film director and screenwriter known for his movie “L' Auberge Espagnole” and Cédric Villani, a French mathematician who received the Fields Medal.
- Cyprien: Cyprien was a rather uncommon French boy’s name. However, this name has gained recognition thanks to a French YouTuber named Cyprien.
- Constant
- Clovis: Clovis is not one of the most common French names, but it has been around for a long time. In French history, Clovis is well-known as the name of an influential king of the Frankish kingdom.
- Celian: The French name Celian used to be very rare, but in recent times it has grown in popularity. It comes from the Latin name Caelius, which is derived from the word “caelum” meaning “sky”.
- Colin: The name Colin appeared during the Middle Ages as a diminutive of a shortened form of the name Nicolas.
- Célestin: The name Célestin comes from the Latin word “caelestinus” which means “heavenly”.
French last names that start with 'C'
If you ask a French person about last names starting with the letter ‘C’, they may mention Louis-Ferdinand Céline, the controversial author of the novel “Journey to the End of the Night”. But Céline is just his pen name; his real name is Louis Ferdinand Destouches.
Here is a list of common French surnames that begin with the letter ‘C’:
- Chevalier
- Clement
- Caron
- Colin
- Carpentier
- Charles
- Charpentier
- Collet
- Cousin
- Carlier
- Collin
- Cordier
- Chauvin
- Charrier
- Colas
- Courtois
- Camus
- Coulon
- Clerc
- Coste
- Couturier
- Chauvet
- Chartier
- Chretien
- Chauveau
- Cadet
- Cornu
- Castel
- Clain
- Charbonnier
- Claude
- Chatelain
- Chapuis
- Comte
- Corre
- Champion
- Cros
- Constant
- Cardon
- Cartier
- Chambon
- Combes
- Cornet
- Cochet
- Caillaud
- Crepin
- Chevrier
- Chollet
- Couderc
- Courtin