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Francophile Naming Guide -- Literature Names Beyond Moliere, Hugo, & Verne for Girls
Across 7 pages
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Frida
German
"peace"
The dynamic personality and paintings of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo have inspired growing numbers of parents to resurrect this form of the name. It does much better in certain European countries,…
Fabie
Fadette
Félicité
Fœdora
Geneviève
Gervaise
French
"skilled with a spear"
Predominantly male choice that nevertheless has a pretty sound and fashionable unisex feel.
Gilberte
French, feminine variation of Gilbert
You might be able to make this work if you pronounce it the sophisticated French way: zhil-bare.
Gina
Diminutive of Regina, Eugenia, Georgina, and similar, English, German, Spanish
"queen; well born; farmer"
A short form for a whole variety of names, this short form has been used across Europe as a stand-alone since the 1920s. It spiked in popularity in the 1950s, owing to the fame of Italian actress…
Gisele
The French variation of Giselle was made famous by the spectacular Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
Gwendoline
Variation of Gwendolen, Welsh
"white ring"
The Gwendoline form may introduce pronunciation confusion -- does that last syllable rhyme with wine or win or when? We vote Gwendolen as not only the most proper but the clearest spelling, followed…
Haydée
Hermione
Feminine version of Hermes, Greek
"messenger, earthly"
Hermione's costarring role in Harry Potter has made this previously ignored, once stodgy name suddenly viable. Hermione could really take off once today's children start having kids of their own. In…
Honorine
French from Latin
"honor"
The pure, simple HONOR--as chosen by Jessica Alba, is perfect as it is. It does have some literary cred though--Henry James created a character called Honorine for his novel The Tragic Muse.
Hortense
Latin
"of the garden"
Hortense is actually the French feminine form of Hortensia, the name of a strong, politically active early Roman woman. Hortense began to be used in the English-speaking world in the nineteenth…
Hortensia
Latin
"of the garden"
Hortensia is an ancient Roman name that's also the common name of the flower hydrangea. The French form of the name is Hortense, which is coming back into style in Paris but has never caught on in…
Hugueline
Héloïse
Hélène
Ida
German
"industrious one"
Many vowel names stylish a century ago are coming back, and Ida seems like a possible, logical successor to Ada and Ava. A century ago, Ida was considered "sweet as apple cider," and was Number 10 on…