150+ French Last Names

Likely to be pronounced AW-bert in English, short forms Aubie and Bertie give this rare French name quirky modern appeal.

A common French surname, typically for someone who was from one of the numerous places called Beaufort in France. A refined route to laid-back nickname Beau.

This surname of Louis and Justin, is perhaps a topographic name for someone living by ‘the wells’, from a plural variant of Occitan théron ‘well’.

Associated with comedian Stephen Colbert, who uses the French pronunciation of his name as a bit (the rest of his family of origin use the English pronunciation).

Dashing middle name choice for admirers of the French author.

Associated with the "Star Trek" commander of the USS Enterprise.

This could be a fresh way to honor an ancestral Walter.

This French feminine version of Germain is a unisex choice in the U.S., also spelled Jermaine, Jemaine, and Germain. Rooted in the ancient Latin Germanus, which may mean sprout or brother, it's no longer a fashionable choice in any version.

An undiscovered last-name-first option.

Not all names that end in -er were originally occupational. This one, for instance, is a surname name that derives from the Old French for "help" or "mercy."

Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget was one of the most influential names in his field, known for his theories on cognitive development in children. His surname has potential as a given name, perhaps for the child of a child psychologist.

Woody Allen used this name for his daughter to honor jazz hero Sidney Bechet -- and it could work for a boy as well.

This is a French occupational namename brought to the fore by poet Vachel Lindsay, born Nicholas Vachel (Vachel being his father's first name), considered the founder of modern poetry intended to be sung or chanted. and also author of the first book of film criticism in 1915.

An aristocratic French surname which is synonymous with the indulged child created by Frances Hodgson Burnett in her book Little Lord Fauntleroy. Fauntleroy is also Donald Duck's middle name.

Naming babies for personal heroes is the cool contemporary trend followed by Woody Allen when he honored New Orleans jazz clarinetist Sidney Bechet in his daughter's name--adding the middle name Dumaine after a cornet player who was another of his musical heroes. Bechet has a nice, catchy Gallic feel.

A dashing French surname name most famously borne by Henry David Thoreau, an American naturalist, writer and philosopher who influenced such notable figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. The most common modern American pronunciation is "thor-OH", with emphasis on the final syllable, although Thoreau himself pronounced it "THOR-oh".

An intriguing surname option with ties to the natural world and to cool names like Hollis and Holland. But beware: another origin of the surname is from Old French horier meaning "pimp, brothel keeper".

Cosmetic reinvention of Cody.

Derived from the personal name Adalhard.