Names Categorized "rare French"

Aldric m French (Rare), Germanic
From a Germanic name, derived from the elements alt "old" and rih "ruler, king". Saint Aldric was a 9th-century bishop of Le Mans.

Alexandrie f French (Rare)
French variant of Alexandra.

Amarante f French (Rare)
French form of Amarantha.

Amour m & f French (Rare)
French form of Amor.

Anthelme m French (Rare)
French form of Anthelm.

Apollinaire m French (Rare)
French form of Apollinaris. It was adopted as a surname by the Polish-French poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), who based it on his Polish middle name Apolinary.

Arianne f French (Rare)
Variant of Ariane.

Arnaude f French (Rare)
French feminine form of Arnold.

Avril f French (Rare), English (Rare)
French form of April. A famous bearer is the Canadian musician Avril Lavigne (1984-).

Azélie f French (Rare)
Perhaps a form of Azalaïs. It was borne by Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.

Babylas m Late Greek, French (Rare)
Derived from the name of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon. Saint Babylas was a 3rd-century patriarch of Antioch who was martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius.

Baptistine f French (Rare)
Feminine form of Baptiste.

Bathilde f French (Rare)
Derived from the Old German elements batu and hilt, which both mean "battle". This is another name used to refer to Saint Balthild. It is also borne by a character in Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841).

Bernardine f French (Rare)
French feminine form of Bernardino.

Candide m & f French (Rare), Literature
French form of Candidus or Candida. The French philosopher and author Voltaire used this name for the main character (a male) in his satire Candide (1759). In French candide also means "naive", which is descriptive of the book's protagonist.

Césaire m French (Rare)
French form of Caesarius.

Corin m French (Rare)
French form of Quirinus.

Cornélie f French (Rare)
French form of Cornelia.

Cunégonde f French (Rare)
French form of Kunigunde. Voltaire used this name in his novel Candide (1759).

Daphnée f French (Rare)
French variant form of Daphne.

Débora f Spanish, Portuguese, French (Rare)
Spanish, Portuguese and French form of Deborah.

Déodat m French (Rare)
French form of Deodatus.

Dieudonnée f French (Rare)
Feminine form of Dieudonné.

Diodore m French (Rare)
French form of Diodorus.

Donat m Polish, French (Rare)
Polish and French form of Donatus (see Donato).

Fiacre m French (Rare)
French form of Fiachra.

Flavienne f French (Rare)
French feminine form of Flavian.

Fleurette f French (Rare), Dutch (Rare), English (Rare)
Diminutive of Fleur.

Florette f French (Rare)
French diminutive of Flora.

Florianne f French (Rare)
Variant of Floriane.

Gaubert m French (Rare)
French form of Gautbert or Waldebert.

Gaultier m French (Rare)
French variant form of Walter.

Ghyslain m French (Rare)
Variant of Ghislain.

Guenièvre f French (Rare)
French form of Guinevere.

Haydée f Spanish, French (Rare)
Spanish and French form of Haidee, from Lord Byron's Don Juan (1819). It was later used by Alexander Dumas for a character in The Count of Monte Cristo (1844).

Hélier m French (Rare)
French form of Helier.

Hildegarde f French (Rare)
French form of Hildegard.

Isabeau f Medieval French, French (Rare), Dutch (Modern)
Medieval French variant of Isabel. A famous bearer of this name was Isabeau of Bavaria (1385-1422), wife of the French king Charles VI.

Jacinthe f French (Rare)
French cognate of Hyacinth 2.

Jacquette f French (Rare)
Feminine diminutive of Jacques.

Josse m French (Rare), Medieval French
French form of Iudocus (see Joyce).

Laurentin m French (Rare)
French form of Laurentinus.

Laurentine f French (Rare)
French feminine form of Laurentinus.

Léonide m & f French (Rare)
French masculine and feminine form of Leonidas.

Léonne f French (Rare)
Feminine form of Léon.

Livie f French (Rare), Czech (Rare)
French and Czech feminine form of Livius.

Lucinde f French (Rare)
French form of Lucinda.

Madelon f French (Rare), Dutch
French diminutive of Madeleine, now more common as a Dutch name.

Marcellette f French (Rare)
French feminine diminutive of Marcellus.

Mardochée m Biblical French, French (Rare)
French form of Mordecai.

Maximilienne f French (Rare)
French feminine form of Maximilian.

Mélisande f French (Rare)
French form of Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).

Mirabelle f French (Rare), English (Rare)
Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.

Napoléon m French (Rare)
French form of Napoleon.

Nazaire m French (Rare)
French form of Nazarius.

Nicéphore m French (Rare)
French form of Nikephoros.

Nicodème m French (Rare)
French form of Nicodemus.

Odilon m French
French form of Odilo.

Osanne f French (Rare)
French form of Osanna.

Pétronille f French (Rare)
French form of Petronilla.

Pharamond m History
Variant of Faramund. This form was used by Shakespeare in his historical play Henry V (1599), referring to the Frankish king.

Philbert m French (Rare)
Variant of Philibert.

Pons m French (Rare)
French form of Pontius.

Rainier m French (Rare)
French form of Rayner.

Renard m French (Rare)
French form of Reynard. Because of the medieval character Reynard the Fox, renard became a French word meaning "fox".

Reynaud m French (Rare)
French variant of Renaud.

Rodolph m English (Rare), French (Rare)
Variant of Rudolf.

Romée f French (Rare), Dutch (Modern)
French feminine form of Romeo.

Roselle f Various
Diminutive of Rose. This is the name of a type of flowering shrub (species Hibiscus sabdariffa) native to Africa but now grown in many places, used to make hibiscus tea.

Scholastique f French (Rare)
French form of Scholastica. It is more common in French-speaking Africa than France.

Sévérine f French (Rare)
Variant of Séverine.

Sixte m French (Rare)
French form of Sixtus.

Tancrède m French (Rare)
French form of Tancred. This is the name of a 1702 opera by André Campra based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem Jerusalem Delivered. It is also the name of a 1759 play by Voltaire.

Tatienne f French (Rare)
French form of Tatiana.

Ursule f French (Rare)
French form of Ursula.

Venceslas m French (Rare)
French form of Václav, via the Latinized form Venceslaus.

Vérène f French (Rare)
French form of Verena.

Vespasien m French (Rare)
French form of Vespasianus (see Vespasian).

Yseult f French (Rare)
French form of Iseult.

Zénaïde f French (Rare)
French form of Zenaida.

Zéphyrine f French (Rare)
French feminine form of Zephyrinus (see Zeferino).