400 Bilingual French girl & French boy names that sound great in English too

Find the perfect bilingual name with this curated list of French boy names and French girl names that sound great in French and English.

By Annie André ⦿ updated January 10, 2024  
Cute French boy and girl dressed up in front of a French flag coloured background holding gift box
Cute French boy and girl dressed up in front of a French flag coloured background holding gift box

What is a bilingual name?

A bilingual name is a name that is easily recognized and pronounced in two or more languages. Bilingual names can be spelled the same in both languages but are pronounced differently, such as the boy’s name “Denis,” which in French is pronounced /Duh-knee/, or the girl’s name, “Maria,” pronounced /maw-ree-yaw/ in French. 

A bilingual name can also have different forms and/or spellings in each language (e.g., Jacques in French and Jack, Jake, Jacob, or James in English).

Challenges and things to consider when choosing bilingual French boy and girl names.

Choosing a bilingual English and French name adds another layer of difficulty.

 I gave all three of my children bilingual names that are easy to read and pronounce in English and French (Catherine, André, and Kieran), but it wasn’t easy. 

Here are some of the main issues you may encounter.

bilingual french boy names and bilingual French girl names

 

1) Bilingual French names may sound unrecognizable in other languages. 

Because French boy and girl names are pronounced differently in each language, they will sound different in other languages, sometimes in a good way, and other times not so much.  You have to decide whether those differences are something that is pleasing to you are not. While other names may be difficult to pronounce and vice versa. 

Here are a few examples:

Heather and Colin:

I would not consider the names Heather and Colin bilingual French-English names but it’s not because they are pronounced differently in French. Heather is pronounced  /Ey-Zher/ and Colin /Koe-lawhn/ with a barely audible “n” sound). 

For a name to be bilingual, it needs to be recognized or used in different cultures. Heather and Colin don’t quite fit that bill. 

Click the play button to hear the French pronunciation of these two names.

Heather and Colin pronounced in French.

Irène and Anaïs:

I would consider these two girls’ names bilingual names. 

Irène, with a  French accent mark over the letter “è” is the French version of the Greek goddess of peace, “Eirene,” that was popular in France from the 20s to the 70s.

Irène pronounced in French /Ee-Ren/, sounds very different than the English pronunciation, but it’s still considered a bilingual name in both languages because speakers of both languages generally understand and use the name. Whereas the name Heather is relatively unknown in France. 

Then there is the girl’s name Anaïs, which has Hebrew, Latin and Persian origins and has been relatively well-known in France since the mid-80s. This name is pronounced  /Ah-Nha-eese/) in both languages. Is it a bilingual name? Well, it depends on whether you like the way it sounds or not. 

Irène and Anaïs pronounced in French.

2) The way you spell bilingual names matters

A name can sound great in two languages, but sometimes, names have different spellings that don’t work in other languages. 

For example, I named my eldest son “Kieran,” /Keer-an/, which is an Irish or Celtic name and can also be considered a bilingual name because it’s pronounced relatively the same in French, English and Celtic. 

The alternate spelling for his name is “Ciaran,” but I was worried that people might mispronounce his name in its written form as /see-AIR-an/ or /see-uh-RAN/.

3 Feminine-sounding bilingual French names that are actually masculine and vice versa

Some French bilingual names may not be good candidates because they have different gender associations in different languages due to cultural and linguistic differences.

For example, the French girl’s name, Raphaëlle /raw-Fa-ELL/and Sébastienne /sey-bas-tee-EN/, which sound perfectly feminine to French speakers, may sound masculine to English speakers. 

Then there’s the French boy names, Paris /Paw-Ree/ and Michel /Mee-Shell/, which may sound feminine to English speakers, but to French speakers, these are just regular French boy’s names.

Michelle is the female version of Michel which fell out of Fashion in France since in the 70’s. 

You might be interested in these other French article about French names. 

The list of bilingual French names starts here.

Bilingual French boy names and French girl names Cute French boy and girl dressed up: with French bon names and French girl names

If you’re ready, let’s dig into this massive list of bilingual French and English names for boys and girls. 

How this list is organized

To help you find the perfect bilingual French name, I’ve grouped them into the following four categories. 

  1. Bilingual French names with masculine and feminine forms: Antoin (m) and Antoinette (f).
  2. Epicene Bilingual names, which are unisex or gender-neutral names spelled the same, whether for a boy: Noa or Robin.
  3. Bilingual French boy names, strictly for boys: Luca or Hugo.
  4. Bilingual French girl names: Strictly for girls: Brigitte or Margot.

As you go through the list of bilingual names, consider how certain names are spelled, whether you like the way it sounds, etc. 

1) Bilingual French names with masculine and feminine forms.

Bilingual French boy names and French girl names: Family walking through a lavender field holding hands

Many French female names, such as Jacqueline and Géraldine, are feminine forms of traditional male French names, which in this case would be Jacques and Gérard.

Here are nearly 100 masculine French boy names and the feminine version of the French boy’s name, along with their closest English counterparts.

Some of the French names don’t translate well to English, but these might interest you if you’re looking for matching names for your kids or the feminine form of a masculine name. 

French Names
Masculine (m) / Feminine (f)
English version
Adrien (m) / Adrienne (f) Adrian / Adriana or Adrienne
Adelin (m) / Adeline (f) Adeline
Aimé (m) / Aimée (f) Amy, Aimie
Alain (m) / Alaine (f) Allen, Allan, Alan / Alana, Alaina
Alexandre (m) / Alexandra (f) Alexander /Alexandra
Alphonse (m) / Alphonsine (f)  Alfonso / Alphonsine, Alphonsina
Amandin (m) / Amadine (f) Amandin / Amandine, Amanda
Anaël (m) / Anaëlle (f)  
Anatole (m) / Anatolie, Anatline (f) Anatole / Anatolie, Anatatoline, Anatolia
André (m) / Andrée (f) Andre or Andrew / Andrea
Antoin (m) / Antoinette (f) Anton, Antony, Anthony / Antoinette 
Ariel (m) / Arielle (f) Ariel / Arielle
Arthur (m) / Arthurine Arthur / Arthurine, Arthurina
Axel (m) / Axelle (f) Axel/ Axelle
Bénédict (m) / Bénédicte (f) Benedict / Benedicte
Bernard (m) / Bernudette (f) Bernard / Bernadine
Christien (m) / Christine, Christiane (f)  Christian / Christine
Claude (m) / Claudette (f)  Claude / Claudet, Claudia 
Daniel (m) / Danielle, Danièle (f) Daniel / Daniella, Daniela, Danielle
Denis (m) / Denise (f) Deniss / Denise
Désiré / Dési (m) / Désirée (f) Desiree
Didier (m) / Didiane (f) Desiderio
Dorian (m) / Dorianne (f) Dorian
Émile (m) / Émelie, Émeline, Émilienne(f) Emil / Emilie, Emeline, Emilienne
Emmanuel (m) / Emmanuelle (f) Emmanuel / Emmanuella 
Étienne (m) / Étiennette (f) Stephan, Steven, / Stephanie
Eugène (m) / Eugénie (f)  Eugene / Eugenie, Eugenia
Fabien (m) / Fabienne (f) Fabian / Fabia, Fabienne
Felix (m) / Félicité  Felix / Felicite, Felicity
Florian or Florien (m) / Flora, Florie (f) Florian / Flora, Florie
François (m) / Françoise, Francine, Francette  Frabciusn, Frank, Francis / Francine, Francoise, Francette
Frédéric (m) / Frédérique (f) Frederick / Frederica
Gabriel (m) / Gabrielle (f) Gabriel / Gabrielle
Gaël (m) / Gaëlle (f) Gael / Gale or Gayle
George (m) / Georgette (f) George / Georgette
Henri (m) / Henriette (f) Henry / Henrietta
Jacques, Jacob (Jacquot) (m) / Jacqueline (f) Jack James, Jacob (Jimmy) / Jacqueline (Jackie)
Joël (m) / Joëlle (f) Joel / Joelle
Joseph (m) / Josephine (f) Joseph / Josephine
Jules (m) / Julie, Julia (f) Jules, Julius / Julie, Julia
Justin (m) / Justine Justin / Justine
Laurent (m) / Laurence (f) Lawrence / Laurence
Lionel (m) / Lionelle (f) Lionel
Louan (m) / Louane (f) Lou-Anne
Louis (m) / Louise (f)  Lewis / Louise
Lucien (m) / Lucienne (f) Lucien, Lucian / Lucienne, Lucianne
Marcel (m) / Marcelle (f) Marcel / Marcela 
Martin (m) / Martine (f) Martin / Martina
Michel (m) / Michèle, Michelle (f) Michael / Michelle
Morgan (m)/ Morgane (f) Morgan
Nicolas (m) / Nicolette, Nicoletta, Nicole (f) Nicholas / Nicole, Nicolette 
Noé (m) / Noée (f) Noah, Noa
Pascal (m) / Pascale (f)  Pascal
Paul (m) / Paule, Paulette (f) Paul / Paulette
Philippe (m) / Philippa Philip, Phil / Philipa
Quentin (m) / Quentine (f) Quentin / Quin, Quentine
Raphaël (m) / Raphaëlle (f) Raphael / Raphaella
Raymond (m) / Raymonde (f) Raymond / Ray, Rae
René (m) / Renée (f) Rene
Robert (m) / Roberte (f) Robert/Roberta
Roch (m) / Rochelle (f) Roch / Rochelle or Rachelle
Roland (m) / Rolande (f) Roland
Sébastien (m) / Sébastienne (f) Sebastian / Sebastiane, Sebastiana
Simon (m) / Simone or Simonne (f) Simon / Simone
Sylvain, Silvain (m) / Silvaine, Sylvaine (f) Sylvain / Sylvie, Silvia
Valéry or Valery (m)/ Valérie (f) Valerius / Valerie
Vivien (m) / Vivienne (f) Vivian Vivianna
Yve (m) / Yvette (f) Yve / Yvette

2) Epicene French Names: Gender-neutral French names that have the exact same spelling  

Bilingual French boy names and French girl names ; boy and girl holding hands in laveder field looking at one another

Almost all traditional French given names are gender-specific, but a few French names are gender-neutral.

Here are nearly 20 gender-neutral French names suitable for both males and females (in France) that are spelled exactly the same. I’ve also included their closest English name equivalent.

Bilingual Gender Neutral FrenchNames English version
Alix (m) (f) Alix, Alex
Amour (m) (f) Amour
Ange (m) (f) Angel 
Calliste, Caliste (m) (f) Calliste, Caliste
Claude (m) (f) Claude
Camille (m) (f) Camilla
Charlie (m) (f) Charlie
Dominique (m) (f) Dominic
Élie (m) (f) Eli
Florence (m) (f) Florence 
Hilarion (m) (f) Ilarion
Léonide (m) (f) Leonide
Maxence (m) (f) Maxentius 
Maxime (m) (f) Maxim
Noa (m) (f) Noa, Noah
Patrice (m) (f) Patrick / Patricia
Robin (m) (f) Robin
Sacha or Sasha (m) (f) Sasha
Stéphane (m) (f) Stephen, Stefanie

Bilingual boy names: Strictly for boys.

Bilingual French boy names and French girl names : French boy in a field wearing shepherds hat

Here are some bilingual French boy names that have timeless appeal and are popular in both French and English-speaking cultures.

Most are easy to pronounce and spell, making them a practical choice for parents looking for a name that works well in both languages. 

Bilingual French Boy name English version
Adam Adam
Alexandre Alexander
Alphonse Alfonso
Antonin Antonio
Arnaud Arnold
Arthur Arthur
Auguste, Augustin Augustus
Basile Basil
Baudouin, Baudoin, Baldwin Baldwin
Bénard Benard
Benoît Benedict, Benet
Bertrand Bertram
Bruno Bruno
Charles Charles
Cédric Cedric
César Caesar
Christophe Christopher
Clair Clare, Klare
Damien Damian
David David
Denis Dennis
Dominique Dominic
Édouard Edward
Élie Elijah, Elias
Émile Emil
Éric Eric
Étienne Steven, Stephan
François Francis
Franck Frank
Frédéric Frederick (Fred)
Gaspard Jasper
Gaultier, Gauthier, Gautier Walter
Gauvain Gavin
Georges George
Gérard Gerald
Gilles Jiles, Giles, Gyles
Grégoire Gregory
Guillaume, (Guy) William, (Bill)
Guy Guy
Hervé Harvey
Hugo Hugo
Hugues Hugo
Ignace Ignatius
Isidore Isidor
Johan Ivan
Jean, (Jeannot) John, (Johnny)
Jérémie Jeremy
Jérôme Jerome
Jessé Jesse, Jessie
Josué Joshua
Jules Jules, Julius
Julien Julian
Léandre Leander
Léo Leo
Léon Leon, Leo
Loïc Loic
Luc Luke
Lucas Lukas
Lyam Liam
Marc, Marcus Mark, Marcus
Mattéo Matteo
Matthieu Matthew
Maurice Morris
Maxime Maxim
Maximilien Maximilian
Maurice Morris
Nathan Nathan
Nathaniël Nathaniel
Nicolas, Noël Nicholas
Normand Norman
Olivier Oliver
Paris (yes, this is a boy’s name in France)  Paris
Perceval, Percival Percy
Phénix  Phoenix
Pierre Peter
Rainier Rayner, Rainor, Ragnar
Renard Reynard
Renaud Reynold
Réginald Reginald
Richard Richard
Rodolphe Rudolph
Romain Roman
Rousseau  Russel
Samuel Samuel
Sébastien, Bastien Sebastian
Sylvestre Silvester
Théodore Theodore
Théo Theo
Théophile Theophilus
Thibaut, Thibault Theobald
Thierry Terry
Thomas Thomas
Timothée Timothy
Tristan Tristan
Urbain Urban
Valentin Valentine
Valéry, Valère Valery
Victoire, Victor Victor
Vivien Vivian
Yann Ian
Yves Ives

4) Bilingual Girl names: Strictly for girls

Bilingual French boy names and French girl names : Two young girls wearing hats in a lavender field in France

There are many beautiful traditional French girl names that work well in both English and French. Here are some examples:

Bilingual French Girl name English version
Adélaïde Adelaide
Adèle Adela
Adrienne Adriana
Agathe Agatha
Agnès Agnes
Alexandrie, (Alix) Alexandria, (Alex)
Aliénor Eleanor
Aline (Adeline) Aline, Adeline, Eileen
Amandine Amanda
Ambre Amber
Amélie, Amélia Amelie, Amelia
Anaïs Anna
Anastasie Anastasia
Angéla, Angèle Angela
Angélique Angelica
Anna (Anouk) (Annick)  Anna, Hannah
Annabelle Annabel
Anne Ann
Annette Annette
Apolline, Apollonie Apolline, Apollonie, Appolina
Arabelle Arabelle, Arabella
Ariane Arian, Ariane
Ariel, Arielle Ariel, Arielle
Audrey Audrey
Aurélie Aurelie
Aurore Aurora
Avril April
Barbara (Babette) Barbara
Béatrice Beatrice, Beatrix
Berthe Bertha
Brigitte Bridget
Camélia Camelia
Candide Candide
Carine Carina
Capucine Nasturtium
Catherine Katherine, Catherine
Cécile, Céline, Célina Cecilia, Celina, Selena
Cerise Cherry
Chloé Chloe
Christelle Crystal, Christine
Christine Christina
Claire, Clara Clare, Clara
Claude, Claudine Claudia
Colette Colette
Coline Colleen
Colombe Colomba
Constance Constance
Coralie (Cora) Coralie, Coralee (Cora)
Corinne  Corinne 
Coraline Coraline
Dalila Delilah
Danielle, Danièle Danielle
Diane Diane, Diana
Dominique Dominica
Dorothée Dorothy
Edwige Hedwig
Élodie Alodia, Elodie
Éléonore, Aliénor Eleanor
Éliane Eliane
Élisabeth Elizabeth
Élise Elisa
Élodie Elodia
Elvire Elvira
Émeline Emeline
Évangéline Evangeline
Ève Eve
Félicie Felicia
Félicité Felicite, Felicity
Fleur Fleur
Flore Flora
France, Francine, Francette France, Francine, Francette
Françoise Francis
Frédérique Fredericka
Gabrielle Gabrielle
Geneviève Genevieve
Géraldine Jeraldine, Geraldine
Gisèle, Giselle  Gisele, Giselle 
Guinevere, Gwenivar Guenevere, Guenever
Hélène Helen, Ellen
Hilaire Hilary
Hortense Hortensia.
Inès Inez
Irène Irene
Isabelle Isabel, Isabelle
Janine, Jeannine Jan, Janet, Janice
Jeanne Joan, Jean, Jane
Jeannine Janine
 Joséphine, (Josette) Josephine, (Josie)
Juliette Juliet
Laetitia, Laëtitia  Latitia, Laetitia
Laure Laura
Léa Leah
Liliane, Lilianne Lillian
Lilou  Lily
Lorraine Lorraine
Luce, Lucie Lucy
Lucinde, Lucine Lucinda
Louna, Luna Luna
Madeleine Madeline, Magdalene
Maëlys Maelys
Marguerite,(Margot, Margaux) Margaret, (Maggie)
Marie Mary
Marianne Mary-Anne
Marilène Marilyn, Marilene
Marthe Martha
Mathilde Matilda
Mélisse Melissa
Mélodie Melody
Monique Monique, Monica
Nadine Nadine
Nicole (Nicoline) NIcole 
Noémi Naomi
Océane Ocean
Olivie, Olive Olivia
Ophélie Ophelia
Pénélope Penelope
Priscille Pricilla
Prune Prune
Régine Regina
Reine  Reine
Sandrine Sandra
Sibylle Sibyl
Solange Solange
Sophie Sophia
Susanne Susan, Suzanne
Suzette Suzette
Sylvie  Sylvia, Silviva
Thérèse Theresa
Ursule Ursula
Valentine Valentina
Valérie Valerie
Véronique Veronica
Violette Violet
Virginie Virginia
Yolande Yolanda
Zoé Zoe

Wrapping French boy names and girl names 

Having a bilingual French boy name or bilingual French girl name is a great way to honour your French heritage and a unique option for your child.

It can set them apart from their peers and give them a sense of individuality and pride.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a 'petite commission' at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through my links. It helps me buy more wine and cheese. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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Annie André

Annie André

About the author

I'm Annie André, a bilingual North American with Thai and French Canadian roots. I've lived in France since 2011. When I'm not eating cheese, drinking wine or hanging out with my husband and children, I write articles on my personal blog annieandre.com for intellectually curious people interested in all things France: Life in France, travel to France, French culture, French language, travel and more.

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