French names that start with 'L'

French names that start with ‘L’ include choices like Louis, Laurent, and Lucien (for boys) alongside options like Léa, Louise, and Liliane (for girls). And plenty more, which we shall see in this article.

French girl names that start with L

• Laurence: In French, Laurence is a female name (it’s the feminine form of the male name Laurent). Whereas in English, Laurence is a male name. And, in the U.S., it is usually spelled Lawrence.
• Léa: Léa is a popular choice among French parents who like shorter names. Léo is the male version of this name.
• Laëtitia: Laëtitia is the French equivalent of the English name Letitia. Both these names come from a Latin word that means “joy”. In Roman mythology, Laetitia is the Goddess of gaiety.
• Louise: Many French kings were named Louis, and Louise is the feminine form of that name. This is a French girl’s name with many cute nicknames like Lou and Loulou.
• Lucienne: Lucienne is a girl’s name derived from the French male name Lucien. These likely derive from the Latin name Lucius, which in turn comes from the word “lux” meaning “light”
• Liliane: Liliane is an elegant French girl’s name that comes from the Latin word “Lilium” which refers to a flower known in English as a “lily”.
• Lucie: The French name Lucie is used in English as well. But in English, the spelling Lucy might be more common. This name originates from the Latin word for “light” (in the sense of “luminous”).
• Lilou: Lilou is a relatively new French name. Its use may have increased because of the movie “The Fifth Element” by Luc Besson, in which one of the main characters had this name (with a slightly different spelling, though).
• Lucette: Lucette is derived from the name Lucie by adding the endearing diminutive suffix “-ette.” We have an entire article on French names that end in “-ette.”
• Laure: Laure is a French girl’s name that originates from the Latin male name Laurus, which translates to “laurel”—a symbol of glory in antiquity.
• Lou: Originally, Lou was simply a diminutive of the name Louise (and Louis), but it has become a name in its own right.
• Louane: Louane is the feminine form of the Breton male name Elouan. It can also be interpreted as a fusion of the names Lou (short for Louise) and Anne.
• Ludivine: Ludivine is a melodic-sounding French name. Although it contains the word “divine”, its etymology is different as it originates from the Germanic name Lidwina.
• Laurine: The name Laurine has the same origin as the names Laure and Lauriane.
• Léonie: Léonie is the female form of the French male name Léon. Both originate from the Latin word “leo” which means “lion”.
• Léane: Léane can be interpreted as a fusion of the names Léa and Anne.
• Lucile: Lucile is a French name that comes from the ancient Latin name Lucilla.
• Léontine: The names Léontine and Léonie have the same origin. Both can be traced back to the Latin word “leo” (which means “lion”)
• Lise: Lise is a charmingly concise French female name derived from either Élisabeth or Louise.
• Loane: In France, Loane is a name of Breton origin that means “the light”.
• Léone
• Lylou
• Lou-Anne
• Louisette: a diminutive form of the name Louise.
• Lauriane: This name can also be spelled as Laurianne.

Three Latin roots (“lucis”, “laurus,” and “leo”) are the origin of many French girl names that begin with ‘L’.

“Lucis” is a declined form of the Latin word “lux” which means “light” (as in luminous, not as the opposite of heavy). This root is present in French names like Lucie, Lucile, Lucienne, and Lucette. It gives these names a radiant and luminous charm.

“Laurus” is the Latin word for the bay laurel, an aromatic herb that was a symbol of victory and achievement in ancient Greece and Rome, where winners were often crowned with laurel wreaths. French girl names with this Latin root include Laure, Laurine, and Lauriane.

“Leo” is the Latin word for “lion.” It is the root of powerful-sounding names like Léonie, Léontine, and Léone.

French boy’s names that start with L

• Louis:
  Louis is one of those traditional French male names. Eighteen kings of France were named Louis (numbers are used to tell them apart). Louis IX is one of them. He was canonized as a saint, and an island in the center of Paris is named after him: the Île Saint-Louis.
• Laurent
• Lucas
• Ludovic
• Lucien
• Léo
• Lionel
• Léon
• Loïc
• Luc
• Léandre
• Léonard

French last names that start with L

There are many French surnames that start with the letter ‘L’ because these often begin with the French masculine definite article “le”. For example, Lemaire is a French last name that can be interpreted as meaning “the mayor” (“maire” being the French word for “mayor”).

Below is a list of many of the most common French last names that start with “L”:

• Lefebvre
• Laurent
• Leroy
• Lambert
• Lefevre
• Legrand
• Lemaire
• Lucas
• Leroux
• Lemoine
• Leclercq
• Leclerc
• Lecomte
• Louis
• Lacroix
• Léger
• Langlois
• Lebrun
• Le gall
• Leblanc
• Leveque
• Lemaitre
• Le roux
• Lebon
• Le goff
• Lejeune
• Lesage
• Legros
• Launay
• Lebreton
• Leduc
• Lelievre
• Lamy
• Lenoir
• Laine
• Lefort
• Laporte
• Legendre
• Leconte
• Lombard
• Laroche
• Loiseau
• Lacombe
• Lemonnier
• Lagarde
• Labbe
• Lecoq
• Ledoux
• Leblond
• Leleu
• Letellier