There are many French names for boys. They can mean a lot. Like, a lot.
It can be tough to find the right name for your little boy. His name can carry every hope and dream you have for him and shape how he connects with himself. Most importantly, it’s his forever: when he’s young, while he grows up, and when he finally becomes a man. We can help you find a name that he can take with him through all of that.
French has a huge influence on the English language and French first names have been used in the US for ages. For instance, the most commonly found French name for a boy in the US in 2022 is Gabriel, a very typical French male names.
Whether you have French heritage, appreciate the culture, or just want a meaningful name that’s creative and cool. You can’t go wrong with a stunning French name. Also, we have gathered some French names for girls for you.
What are Unique French Boy Names in 2022?
We have compiled 300+ names and the meanings behind them. They are grouped according to different categories: unique, common, handsome, cool, classic, neutral, and rare. Find out which French boy name you like best! And don’t forget to how to say I love you in French once you pick your name.
Table of Contents
Unique French Boy Names
Source: Jimmy Conover on Unsplash
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Anatole: sunrise
• Anselme: divine helmet
• Arcene: silver
• Arsène: strong
• Beauregard: beautiful, handsome
• Corentin: friend, hurricane
• Cyriaque: sacred lord
• Didier: desired, beloved
• Franchot: free • Gildas: gilded
• Hugues: intelligence, spirit
• Isaïe: salvation of the Lord
• Lamond: the word
• Narcisse: daffodil
• Odilon: prosperous in battle
• Rudolph: famous wolf
• Turold: just, name of a French poet
• Vachel: small cow
• Varden: green slope
• Vianney: God’s chosen beloved
Common French Boy Names
Source: Pixabay
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Abel/Abelin: breath
• Adrian: of the Adriatic
• Alain: handsome
• Alexander: defender
• Alfred: wise counselor
• Ambroise: immortal, divine
• André: manly
• Artur/Arthur: noble, bear man
• Audric, Aldrick: old & wise ruler
• Benjamin: son of the right hand
• Bernard: courage of a bear
• Brice/Bryce: son of a nobleman
• Bruce: from the brushwood, thicket
• Bruno: brown
• Chandler: chandelier
• Charles: full-grown, many
• Christian: Christian
• Christophe: bearer of Christ
• Clark/Clarque: clergyman
• Claude: lame
• Conrad: honest counselor
• Curt: from the court
• Curtis: courteous
• Daniel: God is judge
• Darrell/Darryl: darling
• David: beloved
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Dean: leader
• Denis: god of wine
• Donald: proud chief
• Edmond/Edmund: prosperous protector
• Emil/Emile: energetic
• Eric: ever powerful
• Félix: fortunate, lucky
• Gabriel: God is strength
• Geoffroy: heavenly peace
• George/Geórges: farmer
• Gérald: mighty with the spear
• Harold: war chief
• Harvey: army warrior
• Henri: ruler of an estate
• Hugh/Hugo: soul mind
• Isaak: laughter
• Japhet: persuasive
• Jeremie: God will uplift
• Jérôme: holy name
• Joël: Jehovah is God
• Joseph: God will add
• Justin: just
• Kévin: kind
• Laurent: ruler
• Léo: lion
• Léon: lion
• Leonard: lion
• Louis: famous warrior
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Marc: warlike
• Marlon: wild falcon
• Martin: warlike
• Matthieu/Matthew: gift of God
• Maurice: Moorish
• Nicolas: victory of the people
• Noel: Christmas
• Olivier/Oliver: olive tree
• Percy: piercing the valley
• Pierré: stone
• Quentin/Quincy: fifth
• Raphael: God has healed
• Richard: powerful ruler
• Robert: shining fame
• Roland: fame of the land
• Ronan: little seal
• Roy: king
• Samuel: God hears
• Sébastien: revered
• Simon: God is heard
• Théodore: gift of God
• Thomas: twin
• Travis: crossroads
• Victor: conqueror
• Vincent: conqueror
• Zacharie/Zaché: God remembers
Handsome French Boy Names
Source: Barbara Ribeiro from Pexels
Decided yet? Once people start to call you by your French names, it is the best way to learn French to get yourself immersed in the language. Your French journey has just started. Keep going!
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Amiel: friend
• Ansel: follower of nobility
• Antoine: inestimable
• Bastien: revered
• Bayard: having red-brown hair
• Beau: beautiful, handsome
• Burke: fortress
• Chaney: oak
• Christobal: bearer of Christ
• Clarence: bright, clear
• Cordell: rope maker
• Dmitri: from Demeter (goddess of the harvest)
• Édouard: wealthy guardian
• Elroy: royalty
• Ernest: serious
• Fabrice: craftsman
• Florent/Florentin: flowering
• Forrest: forest
• Gaston: from Gascony
• Geraud/Giraud: mighty with the spear
• Germain: from Germany
• Gilbert: trusted
• Gilles: bearer of the goatskin shield
• Grégor/Grégoire: vigilant
• Guillaume: resolute soldier
• Hyacinthe: hyacinth
• Jacques: supplanter
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Landry: ruler
• Leroy: the king
• Leverett: young hare
• Lowell: little wolf
• Lucien: bringer of light
• Marceau: warlike
• Neville: from the new town
• Norbert: brilliant hero
• Octavien: eight
• Orville: golden city
• Percival: piercing the valley
• Rainer: strong counselor
• Raoul: strong, wise counsel
• Remain: Roman
• Renaud: wise power
• Rodrigue: famous warrior
• Royce: son of the king
• Rupert: bright, fame
• Saül: longed for
• Sinclair: clear sign
• Sylvestre/Sylvester: from the woods
• Thibault: people’s prince
• Valentin: strong, brave
Cool French Boy Names
Source: Milan Chauhan from Pexels
It’s hard to know for sure exactly what makes these French boy names so cool.
Is it that they are short? Catchy? Maybe they just have a certain je ne sais quoi about them.
Whatever the case your little boy will have some pretty cool namesakes in French sci-fi auteur Luc Besson and “Angel’s Brought Me Here” singer Guy Sebastian.
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Achille: thin-lipped
• Aimon: house
• Aloïs: famous warrior
• Amato: love
• Amour: love
• Armand: army man
• Arnaut/Arnaud: eagle, power
• Avent: advent
• Basile: kingly
• Blaise/Blaize: stammerer
• Boone: good
• Chase/Chace: hunter
• Colas: victory of the people, variant of Nicolas
• Constantine/Constant : constant, steadfast
• Coyne: modest
• Damien: taming
• Dash: page boy
• Duke: leader
• Émeric: ruler of home
• Florian: flowering
• Fortune: lucky
• Frayne: dweller at the ash tree
• Frédéric: peaceful ruler
• Gaétan: from Gaeta
• Gage: pledge, pawn
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Gautier: powerful ruler
• Guy: guide
• Hervé: army warrior
• Jaye/ Jay: blue jay
• Josse: lord
• Julien: youthful
• Lambert: land of brightness
• Luc: light
• Lyle: from the island
• Marshal: steward
• Martial: warlike
• Maxime: greatest
• Morty: still water, derived from Mortimer
• Noë/ Noé: peace, rest, form of Noah
• Pascal: easter
• Ranger: protector of the forest
• Remi: from Reims
• Russ/Russell: read-head
• Saber: sword
• Serge: the attendant
• Silvère: silver
• Thierry: people’s ruler
• Tristan: sorrowful
• Tyson: explosive
• Urbain: of the city
• Zéphyr: west wind
Classic French Boy Names
Source: Natasha Babenko from Pexels
From Lionel Richie to Philip Seymour Hoffman, these French names boys are old-fashioned and tend to be longer, but they can also be so much more romantic. The classics are timeless for a reason. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Or as the French would say: On ne change pas une équipe qui gagne. (Never change a winning team.)
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Algernon: bearded
• Augustin: venerable, exalted
• Aurelien: gold
• Baptiste: baptizer
• Barnabé: son of prophecy
• Barthemey: ploughman
• Baudouin: bold wine
• Beaumont: beautiful, handsome
• Bellamy: beautiful friend
• Benedict: blessed
• Benôit: blessed
• Bertrand: brilliant
• Boniface: well-doer
• Cassius: protective cover
• Charlemagne: Charles the great
• Chevelier: horseman
• Clément: merciful
• Clovis: renowned fighter
• Cyprien: from the island of Cyprus
• Cyril: lordly one
• Demont: of the mountain
• Donatien: gift
• Fernand/Ferdinand: adventurous, brave
• Fontaine: fountain
• Francois: free
• Garnier: army guard
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Gaspar/Gaspard: he who brings treasure
• Gervais: serves the spear
• Ghislain: sweet pledge
• Gustave: staff of the gods
• Herbert: bright warrior
• Hubert: bright mind
• Isidore: a gift of ideas
• Lionel: lion cub
• Marius: warlike
• Marquis: noble
• Montague: sharp cliff
• Mortimer: still water
• Napoleon: of Naples
• Nestor: return
• Parfait: perfect
• Prewitt: brave one
• Prosper: fortunate
• Reynard: fox
• Sévérin: severe
• Seymour: of the village of St. Maur.
• Silvain: forest
• Stanislas: stand for glory
• Tanguy: warrior
• Ulrich: ruler of all
Neutral French Boy Names
Source: Pixabay
Maybe you don’t know the sex of the baby, maybe you do. It’s 2022, and we understand now kids decide for themselves what kind of person they want to be. That’s not a setback in the name department though.
Morgan Freeman or Fairchild, Taylor Lautner or Swift? These neutral names are fantastic for both boys and girls.
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Alex/Alix: defender
• August: venerable, exalted
• Avery: ruler of elves
• Avril: April
• Axel/ Axele: peace
• Bailey: steward
• Bryn: hill
• Ciel: blue
• Clémence: merciful
• Danae/ Dana: God is my judge
• Darcy: dark one
• Dionne: divine
• Emanuelle: God is with us
• Étienne: crown
• Fidèle/Fidel: faithful
• Floriane: flowering
• Gaelle: stranger
• Gene: noble/ well-born, short for Eugene
• Harley: meadow of hares
• Jean/Jeannick: God is gracious
• Jordan/Jordane: descendant
• Jules: youthful
• Justine: fair, righteous
• Loupe: wolf
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Maël: prince, princess
• Marcel/ Marcelle: warlike
• Marion: from the sea, bitter
• Martine: warlike
• Michel, Michele: who is like God
• Monet: noble
• Morgan: sea-dweller
• Noéle: Christmas
• Philippe: horse lover
• Remy: remedy, oarsman
• Reneé: rebirth, renaissance
• Robin: fame, bright
• Sacha: defender
• Spencer: keeper of provisions
• Sydney/Sidney: Saint-Denis
• Taylor: tailor
• Yves: little archer
Rare French Boy Names
Source: Spencer Selover from Pexels
These are some of the rarest names in France. Very few people use them, but why not stand out from the crowd? Unique is a French word after all.
Audio Pronunciation for these names:
• Alveré: elf counsel
• Amalric: the power of work
• Campion: champion
• Channing: canon
• Dieudonné: given by God
• Izod: strong, hard
• Kaïs: strong one
• Mérovée: famed fight
• Naël: gift of God
• Théophile: divinely loved
Bonne chance! (Good Luck!)
Out of all the languages and words out there, names might be the most important ones we use to define ourselves and the people around us. French is an absolutely charming language, and as you can tell from the list above, it makes a wonderful source of inspiration for names. So we wish you bonne chance (good luck!) and hope this list can help you make a great decision in naming your baby boy! Just in case you want to check out nicknames in other languages, we offer you a list of Spanish nicknames to choose from.
Head on over to AmazingTalker to find your own personal French tutors to get started and explore more great topics!
