Medieval French Names

Daniel

Hebrew

"God is my judge"

Daniel is one of only a handful of male names that sounds both classic and modern, strong yet approachable, and popular but not cliched. It also has a solid Old Testament pedigree. The only real…

Adam

Hebrew

"son of the red earth"

Adam -- a primal Old Testament name -- was revived as a 1960s cowboy name. Adam is not as popular as it once was and feels ready for a respite, replaced by newer A names like Aidan/Aiden, Avery and…

Martin

Latin

"warlike"

Martin is one of those names like Arthur and Vincent and George that is in the process of throwing off its balding middle-aged image to start sounding possible again, used in full without the dated…

Noel

French

"Christmas"

Noel is British, fey, and sophisticated, connoting wit and creativity, much like namesake Noel Coward. Noel has also been a character on Felicity and Pretty Little Liars . Thanks to their association…

Emery

English from German

"industrious"

Emery is one of the newly popular Em- names that has great potential, though right now for girls more than boys: it received a boost in 2009, a year after Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn used it for…

Denis

French from Greek

"god of Nysa"

While Dennis may be more familiar to English speakers, Denis, or sometimes Denys, were the original medieval French forms of the name. Ultimately derived from Dionysius, the Greek god of wine and…

Olivier

French

"olive tree"

More and more frequently heard as the Gallic version of Oliver, Olivier could be seen as a tribute to the great British actor, Sir Laurence O.

Alain

French, variation of Alan

Alain gives the midcentury Alan a bit of gallic dash.

Mathieu

Mathieu is the French form of Matthew, a masculine name with biblical origins derived from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, meaning 'gift of God' or 'gift from Yahweh.' This elegant French spelling…

Thierry

French variation of Theodoric

"ruler of the people"

A hugely popular choice in France back in the 60s and 70s, Thierry took the number one spot in 1964,though it has since dropped out of the French Top 500. Derived from the Germanic Theodoric (not a…

Laurens

Laurens is a masculine name of Latin origin, derived from the ancient Roman name 'Laurentius,' meaning 'from Laurentum' or 'crowned with laurel.' The laurel wreath was a symbol of victory and honor…