Fabulous French Fancies

Cece, all by itself, gained notice as the nickname of Jim and Pam's baby on television's The Office. On the show as in real life, Cece is often short for Cecelia or even Cecilia, but it can also be a short form of just about any C name. Cece -- or, less elegantly, CeCe -- can also be a stylish nickname name used all by itself, ala Coco and Lulu. If you really love girl names starting with C, this is one way to express your devotion every time you say your daughter's name!

Jolie is as pretty as its literal meaning; nowadays it is also seen as a girls’ name, via Angelina for whom Jolie was originally her middle name.

Doesn't everything sound better with a French accent? Sylvain, the French variation of the Roman wood god's name, sounds somehow cooler and more sophisticated than Sylvan.

Regal and ancient feeling, Jacques has been declining in popularity in its native France, but in the UK, it saw a surprising revival in 2022. Jumping from somewhere around the #2500 mark straight to #600, it was seven times more popular than in 2021.

This feminization of Anthony, like other early French forms, such as Babette and Nanette, is not heard as often as it once was, but it could be time for a reappraisal of this delicate Gallic choice.

Fine in France, but here it means vegetables sliced into thin strips.

Marguerite is a classic French name with a remnant of old-fashioned Gallic charm; and is also a variety of daisy. Chic again in Paris, it's definitely ripe for revival here.

One of the most familiar — if not stereotypical — Gallic names. Pierre was a Top 5 name in France from the 19th century through 1940 and is now on a steady decline in its native land. In the US, Pierre was most common in the 1980s but it has never cracked the Top 300.

Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette.

Lucienne is a soft and ultra-sophisticated French-accented option in the Lucy family, one that could provide a fresh alternative to such fatigued Gallic choices as Danielle and Michelle.

This old-time fairy tale name is rarely heard in the modern English-speaking world, but it's so, well, mellifluous, that it would make a lovely choice for a twenty-first century girl--a romanticized tribute to an Aunt Melissa or Melanie.

Frenchified name rarely used in France. And perhaps even more rarely used in the US -- there were NO baby girls given the name on the official records of 2021.

In France it's sometimes bestowed as a patriotic gesture; in English-speaking places it has an air of genteel sophistication.

Bijou is a name that lives up to its definition -- a real jewel. Warning: not unheard of on poodles' dog collars. Actress Bijou Phillips is its best known bearer. It can also be spelled Bijoux.

Anais, the name forever attached to the daring French-born American novelist and diarist Anais Nin, is unusual and French enough without appending an e, though some may think it clarifies pronunciation.

Has lost all trace of its French accent.

Brigitte is the French version of the ancient Irish Brighid long associated with 1950s sex symbol Brigitte Bardot. If you want to pronounce Brigitte the French way, it's brih-ZHEET.

his engaging French saint's name, pronounced like tangy, with a hard 'g,' also has a creative connection to French surrealist painter Yves Tanguy.

Soft and delicate French name rarely heard here.

The kind of French name that seemed daring -- and darling -- in the sixties.