French Names – Male

It seems that lately I've been hearing a whole lot about France, (a side effect of my Les Mis, A Tale of Two Cities, and Scarlet Pimpernel obsession), so I thought that I may as well compile a list of French names for your character-naming pleasure, since I haven't added France to my name list collection yet.

Unfortunately, I can't really say that most of these names are French in origin, since many of them have roots in the Bible, or other parts of Europe, and are therefore simply "Frenchified" versions of more traditionally recognized names—but they are French in usage. For example, Élie is the French form of Elijah.

However, if French names aren't really for you, I've compiled lists of several other ethnicities, encompassing a wide range from Hebrew to Irish.

• Male and Female English Names
• Male and Female Hebrew Names
• Male and Female Irish Names
• Male and Female Norwegian Names

I'll be posting the feminine side of this list in October. Enjoy!

A
Adélard – noble; brave; hardy
Adolphe – noble wolf
Aimé – beloved
Alain – little rock; handsome
Aldéric – old; ruler; power
Alexandre – defending men
Amable – lovable
Amand – lovable; worthy of love
Amaury – work; labor; power
Ambroise – immortal
Amédée – love of God
Anatole – sunrise
André – manly
Antonin – ?
Armand – army man
Armel – bear; prince
Aubin – white; bright
Auguste – great; venerable
Aurèle – golden; gilded
Aurélien – golden; gilded
B
Baptiste – baptist
Basile – king
Bastien – from Sebaste
Benoît – blessed
Bérenger – bear; spear
Blaise – lisping
Brice – speckled

C
Calixte – most beautiful
Camille – ?
Casimir – to destroy; peace; world
Célestin – of the sky; heavenly
Césaire – hairy
Charlot – man
Christophe – bearing Christ
Claude – lame; crippled
Clément – merciful; gentle
Corin – spear
Corneille – horn
D
Damien – to tame
Deniel – form of Daniel; God is my judge
Désiré – desired; wished
Diodore – gift of Zeus
Dominique – of the Lord
E
Edgard – wealth; fortune; spear
Edmé – wealth; fortune; protection
Edmond – wealth; fortune; protection
Édouard – rich guard
Élie – form of Elijah; my God is YAHWEH
Éloi – to choose
Émeric – power
Émile – rival
Émilien – rival
Étienne – crown
Eugène – well-born
Évariste – well-pleasing
F
Fabien – bean
Félicien – lucky; successful
Fernand – journey; daring; brave
Firmin – firm
Flavien – golden-haired
Florent – prosperous; flourishing
Florentin – prosperous; flourishing
Florian – flower
Francis – Frenchman
Francisque – Frenchman
François – Frenchman
Frédéric – peaceful ruler
G
Gabin – ?
Gaspard – treasurer
Gaston – stranger; guest
Gautier – ruler of the army
Gauvain – ?
Georges – farmer; earthworker
Gérald – ruler of the spear
Germain – brother
Gervais – spear
Ghyslain – hostage; pledge
Gratien – grace
Grégoire – watchful; alert
H
Henri – home ruler
Hervé – battle-worthy
Hilaire – cheerful
Honoré – esteemed; distinguished; honored
J
Jacques – supplanter
Jean – form of John; YAHWEH is gracious
Jérémie – form of Jeremiah; YAHWEH will exalt
Joffrey – ?
Josse – lord
Jules – ?
Julien – ?
Juste – just
Justin – just
L
Laurent – from Laurentum
Laurentin – from Laurentum
Lazare – my God has helped
Léandre – lion; man
Léo – lion
Léon – lion
Léonce – lion
Léopold – people; bold
Loan – light
Lothaire – famous army
Louis – famous; war; battle
Loup – wolf
Luc – form of Luke; from Lucania
Lucien – light
M
Mael – chief; prince
Marcelin – ?
Matéo – form of Matthew; gift of YAHWEH
Mathéo – form of Matthew; gift of YAWHEH
Mathys – form of Matthew; gift of YAHWEH
Maurice – dark-skinned
Maxime – greatest
Maximilien – greatest
Mickaël – who is like God?
Moïse – son; deliver
N
Napoléon – sons of mist
Nathanaël – God has given
Nicolas – victory of the people
Noël – Christmas
O
Octave – eighth
Odilon – fatherland; wealth; fortune
Olivier – ?
P
Pascal – relating to Easter
Patrice – nobleman
Philippe – friend of horses
Pièrre – stone
R
Rainier – advice; army
Raphaël – God heals
Régis – ruler
Rémi – oarsman; rower
Renard – fox
René – born again
S
Sébastien – from Sebaste
Séraphin – fiery ones
Sévère – stern
Séverin – stern
Sixte – scraped; polished; sixth
Sylvain – wood; forest
Sylvestre – of the forest
T
Théophile – friend of God
Thierry – ruler of the people
Timothé – honoring God
Toussaint – all saints
Tristan – ?
V
Valère – to be strong
Valérian – to be strong
Vivien – alive
Y
Yann – form of John; YAHWEH is gracious
Yannic – form of John; YAHWEH is gracious
Yezekael – lord; prince; generous
Yoann – form of John; YAHWEH is gracious
Yves – yew
Z
Zacharie – form of Zechariah; YAHWEH remembers

Names taken from Behind the Name.