French names that start with 'R'

The letter ‘R’ is an assertive consonant. The French name Régis, for instance, begins with this letter and shares a common Latin origin with the French word for “king” —which is “roi”.

In addition to assertiveness, the letter ‘R’ can have a romantic feel. In fact, the French name Romain comes from the same Latin root as the word “romantic”.

French boy’s names that start with R

• René: The French name René originates from the Latin name Renatus, itself derived from the Latin verb “renasci”, which means “to be born again”.
• Romain: The French name Romain evokes a connection to the Roman Empire, as it is derived from the Latin adjective “romanus” which means “roman”.
• Rémi: The name Rémi (which is sometimes spelled Rémy) comes from the Latin name Remigius, itself likely derived from a Latin word meaning “oarsman” or “rower”. The 19th-century French author Hector Malot used the name Rémi for the main character in his novel “Sans Famille”.
• Renaud: Renaud is a French name of Germanic origin. It is the equivalent of the English name Reynold.
• Roland: The name Roland has been in use since the time when France was the Kingdom of the Franks. At that time, the king of the Franks, Charlemagne, had a paladin named Roland who was later celebrated in a medieval epic poem: the “Song of Roland”.
• Raphaël: The French name Raphaël and its English equivalent, Raphael, come from Hebrew. The French spelling places two dots over a vowel to show that it should be pronounced separately from the preceding vowel (instead of being merged into a single sound).
• Régis: The name Régis comes from the Latin word “regis”, the genitive form of “rex” (which means “king”).
• Rodolphe: Rodolphe is the French version of the Germanic name Rudolf.
• Raoul: The French name Raoul and the English name Ralph have a common Germanic origin. They come from Radawulf, an ancient Germanic name that combines the roots “rad” (meaning “counsel”) and “wulf” (meaning “wolf”).
• Roméo
• Romuald
• Raymond

The Germanic origins of many French names that start with ‘R’

A higher percentage of French names starting with ‘R’ come from Germanic languages compared to French names beginning with some of the other letters. The reason is that several key Germanic vocabulary words start with the letter ‘R’.

By the way, the French language evolved from Latin. But France was once the Kingdom of the Franks, and the Frankish language was a Germanic language.

Germanic names are often dithematic (they often combine two elements). Each element usually represents a desirable trait or something the ancient culture held in high regard.

One of these highly valued themes is “counsel”; the word for “counsel” starts with the letter ‘R’ across many Germanic languages: “Rat” (in German), “raad” (in Dutch), “råd” (in Swedish), and “ráðh” (in Icelandic).

The French names Renaud, Raymond, and Raoul come from Germanic dithematic names where the first component is the Germanic term for “counsel” —that’s why these names start with the letter ‘R’.

“Fame” is another theme that serves as the first component of several Germanic names. That word is “Ruhm” (in German) and “roem” (in Dutch). In ancient Germanic languages, the corresponding word also had an ‘R’ sound near the beginning.

The French names Rodolphe, Roland, and Romuald originate from Germanic dithematic names where the first component was a Germanic term for “fame” or “glory”.

French girl names that start with R

French girl names that start with ‘R’ represent a small fraction of all the girl names available in French. In our list of 500 French female names, only 1.8% of them start with the letter ‘R.’

• Rosalie: Rosalie is a French female name derived from the Latin word “rosa” which means “rose” (the flower)
• Rosaline: The French name Rosaline has many spelling variants including Roselyne and Roseline. This name may have originated from the name Rosalie or it may have come from the Germanic name Rosalind.
• Rozenn: Rozenn is a female name from Breton, a Celtic language that originates from Brittany, the westernmost region of France. This name is derived from the Breton word “roz” which means “roses” (the flowers).
• Renée: Although the name Renée is French, it is more common in the United States than in France. I have lived for several decades in France, and I haven’t met a French woman named Renée.
• Raphaëlle
• Roxane
• Romane
• Rosette
• Rolande
• Reine
• Régine
• Rose
• Raymonde

French first names that begin with ‘R’ among historical figures and public personalities

A famous namesake can endow a name with a sense of inspiration and provide it with additional allure.

Historical figures with French names beginning with ‘R’ include two who are connected to the tennis world (Roland Garros and René Lacoste), two French presidents (Raymond Poincaré and René Coty), and of course René Descartes, the philosopher and mathematician best known for his statement “Cogito, ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I am”).

Name	Occupation
René Descartes	French philosopher and mathematician (1596 – 1650)
René Goscinny	French writer and co-creator of the Astérix comic book series (1926 – 1977)
René Lacoste	French tennis player and founder of the Lacoste clothing brand with its crocodile logo (1904 – 1996)
Roland Garros	French aviator (1888 – 1918) The venue of the French Tennis Open is named after him.
Raymond Poincaré	President of France from 1913 to 1920
René Coty	President of France from 1954 to 1959
Romain Gary	French novelist (1914 – 1980)
Raoul Dufy	French fauvist painter (1877 – 1953)
Marie-Rosalie Bonheur (Rosa Bonheur)	French painter (1822 – 1899)
Renaud Séchan	French singer and songwriter
Régis Debray	French philosopher
Rémi Gaillard	French comedian
Romain Duris	French actor