Names by country
French names for characters
Popular French first names by birth decade, common and regional surnames, pronunciation, and the naming rules writers trip over.
How French names work
French birth certificates list two or three prénoms, but only the first is used. Compound names (Jean-Pierre, Marie-Christine) were very fashionable from the 1940s to the 1970s and count as one first name. Marie as a boy's second name is a Catholic custom.
First names by birth decade
Names drift in and out of fashion. Pick from the decade your character was born, not the year your story is set.
Born before 1950
Girls
- Marie mah-REE
- Jeanne ZHAHN
- Monique moh-NEEK
- Jacqueline zhahk-LEEN
- Denise deh-NEEZ
- Simone see-MOHN
- Yvette ee-VET
- Paulette poh-LET
Boys
- Jean ZHAHN
- Pierre pyair
- Michel mee-SHEL
- André ahn-DRAY
- Jacques ZHAHK
- René reh-NAY
- Bernard bair-NAR
- Roger roh-ZHAY
Born 1950–64
Girls
- Martine mar-TEEN
- Françoise frahn-SWAHZ
- Catherine kat-REEN
- Christine krees-TEEN
- Sylvie seel-VEE
- Isabelle ee-zah-BEL
- Brigitte bree-ZHEET
- Marie-Christine mah-REE krees-TEEN
Boys
- Jean-Pierre zhahn-PYAIR
- Philippe fee-LEEP
- Alain ah-LAN
- Patrick pah-TREEK
- Michel
- Daniel dahn-YEL
- Gérard zhay-RAR
- Christian krees-TYAHN
Born 1965–79
Girls
- Nathalie nah-tah-LEE
- Sandrine sahn-DREEN
- Isabelle
- Valérie vah-lay-REE
- Stéphanie stay-fah-NEE
- Céline say-LEEN
- Sophie soh-FEE
- Véronique vay-roh-NEEK
Boys
- Stéphane stay-FAHN
- Laurent loh-RAHN
- Christophe krees-TOF
- Frédéric fray-day-REEK
- Sébastien say-bas-TYAN
- Olivier oh-lee-VYAY
- Nicolas nee-koh-LAH
- Thierry tyeh-REE
Born 1980–94
Girls
- Aurélie oh-ray-LEE
- Julie zhoo-LEE
- Émilie ay-mee-LEE
- Céline
- Élodie ay-loh-DEE
- Audrey oh-DRAY
- Laura loh-RAH
- Marion mah-RYOHN
Boys
- Nicolas
- Julien zhoo-LYAN
- Sébastien
- Guillaume gee-YOHM
- Thomas toh-MAH
- Mathieu mah-TYUH
- Romain roh-MAN
- Jérémy zhay-ray-MEE
Born 1995–2009
Girls
- Manon mah-NOHN
- Léa lay-AH
- Camille
- Chloé kloh-AY
- Clara klah-RAH
- Océane oh-say-AHN
- Emma em-MAH
- Inès ee-NES
Boys
- Thomas
- Lucas loo-KAH
- Hugo oo-GOH
- Théo tay-OH
- Maxime
- Alexandre
- Antoine ahn-TWAHN
- Quentin kahn-TAN
Born 2010 onward
Girls
- Jade ZHAD
- Louise loo-EEZ
- Emma
- Alice ah-LEES
- Ambre AHMBR
- Lina lee-NAH
- Rose ROHZ
- Chloé
Boys
- Gabriel gah-bree-EL
- Léo lay-OH
- Raphaël rah-fah-EL
- Louis
- Arthur ar-TOOR
- Jules ZHOOL
- Adam ah-DAHM
- Lucas
Common French surnames
- Martin mar-TAN
- Bernard bair-NAR
- Dubois doo-BWAH
- Thomas toh-MAH
- Robert roh-BAIR
- Richard ree-SHAR
- Petit peh-TEE
- Durand doo-RAHN
- Leroy leh-RWAH
- Moreau moh-ROH
- Simon see-MOHN
- Laurent loh-RAHN
- Lefebvre leh-FEVR
- Michel mee-SHEL
- Garcia gar-SEE-ah
- David dah-VEED
- Bertrand bair-TRAHN
- Roux ROO
- Vincent van-SAHN
- Fournier foor-NYAY
- Morel moh-REL
- Girard zhee-RAR
- Bonnet boh-NAY
- Dupont doo-POHN
Regional names
Where a character comes from inside France changes their surname, and sometimes their first name.
Brittany
Breton surnames often carry the article Le (Le Gall, the Frenchman; Le Bihan, the small one). Breton first names came back strongly from the 1970s.
Surnames: Le Gall, Le Goff, Le Guen, Le Bihan, Le Floch, Tanguy, Jaouen, Morvan, Le Roux, Kerjean
Girls: Gwenaëlle, Maëlle, Soazig, Nolwenn, Anaïg, Katell, Morgane, Rozenn
Boys: Yann, Erwan, Yannick, Loïc, Ronan, Gaël, Tanguy, Gwenaël
Alsace and Lorraine
Germanic surnames, usually written without umlauts (Müller became Muller). Older Alsatians were born under German rule before 1918 or lived through it in 1940 to 1944.
Surnames: Muller, Schmitt, Meyer, Weber, Klein, Wagner, Heitz, Fischer, Kieffer, Koenig
Provence and Occitanie
Southern surnames often come from Occitan trades and nicknames: Fabre means smith, Blanc means fair-haired.
Surnames: Blanc, Roux, Fabre, Arnaud, Aubert, Giraud, Pons, Rey, Bérenger, Gros
Corsica
Italian-origin surnames ending in -i. Double Catholic first names are especially common.
Surnames: Santoni, Casanova, Luciani, Paoli, Mattei, Leca, Albertini, Pietri, Filippi, Cristofari
Girls: Marie-Ange, Marie-Dominique, Jeanne-Marie, Marie-Paule, Laetitia, Vannina, Carole, Paola
Boys: Ange, Dominique, Jean-Baptiste, Paul-Antoine, Toussaint, Pierre-Paul, Antoine, François-Xavier
Nord (Lille and the Belgian border)
Flemish-origin names (Vandenberghe, Desmet) are common near the Belgian border.
Surnames: Lefebvre, Lemaire, Delattre, Dupont, Leroy, Vandenberghe, Desmet, Delcourt, Lecomte, Deschamps
Questions
What are common French surnames?
Some of the most common French surnames are Martin, Bernard, Dubois, Thomas, Robert, Richard. Regional surnames differ, so check the regional lists before choosing one for a character from a particular area.
How do French names work?
French birth certificates list two or three prénoms, but only the first is used. Compound names (Jean-Pierre, Marie-Christine) were very fashionable from the 1940s to the 1970s and count as one first name. Marie as a boy's second name is a Catholic custom.
Build a French character in one tap
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