Cat Names · Pet Names
By Brynn McKeon · Updated September 2026
Across 11 pages
of 11
French occupational name
"a merchant"
Mercer is an attractive possibility which is an occupational name that doesn't sound like one. Mercer and its cool, sophisticated short form Merce project a super creative image via their artistic…
Greek, French, from Hebrew
"gift of God"
One of the relatives on the widely-branching family of John names, Yanis is in the French Top 50 and was a fast rising choice in the UK in 2022, when it went from being outside the Top 1000 to within…
French elaboration of Lynn or Welsh
"idol"
Linda begat Lynn which gave way to Lynette, which peaked in the late 1960s. Lynette has been off the Top 1000 for a couple decades now, and the Lynn variations finding the most favor are those that…
French or Breton
"chief or prince"
This feminine form of Mael has the distinctive "aelle" ending found in Brittany. In the French spelling Maëlle, it is a Top 100 girls' name in France.
French diminutive
Joining the likes of Coco and Fifi, Gigi has a style but some may feel it lacks substance. Model and TV personality Gigi Hadid (born Jelena) has likely drawn attention to this name, while designer…
French variation of Brighid
"strength or exalted one"
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.
German, French
"prosperous in battle"
Ottilie is trending in the UK, where the pronounced T helps the name sound pretty and delicate, rather like Amelie and Elodie. Ottilie is less popular in the US, where many Americans pronounce it as…
French from Latin
"coral"
Coralie is a French name not often heard here, though she's gaining some recognition via Neil Gaiman's similar sounding spooky and lovely children's book, Coraline . Other literary appearances:…
French from Hebrew
"burning ones"
Seraphine is the Gallic version of the angelic name Seraphina. But while Seraphina has been rising rapidly since Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck chose it for their second daughter, Seraphine has been…
"lame; enclosure"
Claude is a soft-spoken French name that conjures up the pastel colors of Monet and harmonies of Debussy. In France, it is used for girls as well, in fact in the Tracy Chevalier novel Lady and the…
The French variation of Giselle was made famous by the spectacular Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
French
"blue"
The Frenchified color name Bleu is notable in baby-naming history as the then-outrageous middle name of John Travolta and Kelly Preston's daughter Ella, born in 2000. Perhaps because blue is…
French or German surname
"throw away; foundling; jet"
Jeter, which of course is used as a first name only because of Yankee star Derek, rhymes with Peter and may be derived from the French surname Jette, which was often bestowed on foundlings because it…
French or English
"stain or from the south meadow"
A jaunty offshoot of Sullivan, Sully will be associated by kids with the beloved character in the Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc . Some notable real-life namesakes are French poet and essayist…
French from German
"the foreigner, the guest"
Depending on your cultural references, you may think of Phantom of the Opera author Gaston Leroux, or the macho villain of Beauty and the Beast . While he's hardly a role model (unless you too use…
"man from Lucania"
Luc is the sleeker Gallic cousin of Luke, and if you want to know the difference between their pronunciations, just watch Kevin Kline's hilarious description in the film French Kiss. Peter Gabriel…
"to entice, attract"
Sounds like a princess -- or an enticingly evil witch -- in a fairy tale.
French from Greek
"of Delphi; womb"
Delphine is a sleek, chic French name with two nature associations — the dolphin and the delphinium, a bluebell-like flower, a well as a link to the ancient city of Delphi, which the Greeks believed…
French variation of Helen
"bright, shining one"
Whether it's pronounced with an "een" or an "aine" or an "enn" sound at the end, Helene doesn't feel as current the more forthright Helen or the airier Helena. Helene reached a high of Number 228 in…
French; English
"of the Passover; Easter"
The French-accented Pascal was historically used for sons born at Easter, and can make an interesting choice for a boy with Gallic roots arriving around that holiday. Pascal has a number of notable…
