French Baby Names Are In — Here Are 20 More Unique Ones Than ‘Charlotte’

Oui, oui! There is so much to love about the country of France. It's synonymous with high fashion and art, known for its diverse architecture and exquisite cuisine, and has a reputation for romance and charm. And while we may love French culture and art (French New Wave! Goddard! Serge Gainsbourg! The Louvre!), Americans absolutely love French baby names. Don’t believe us? Some of the most popular baby names in the U.S. are French in origin.

Charlotte? French. Ava? French. Noah? French. But those names are absolute chart-stoppers in the U.S. — Charlotte is the 3rd most popular baby girl name in the U.S., Ava, the 7th, and Noah, for boys, the 2nd.

So the French have great names. But what if you want to go a little bit off the beaten path? With so much going for it, looking to the country's most popular baby names — rather than the most popular names in the U.S. — might offer fabulously chic inspiration.

Good for us, because Behind the Name, a baby name site that collects data on baby names, including the etymology and popularity of names, recently shared a list of the most popular baby names in France using data from France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, which tracks the first names given to children born in France from the 1900s to today.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 most popular baby boy names and baby girl names in France — as well as a handful of deeper, even more unique cuts.

Here are the top baby boy names in France in 2022:

1. Gabriel
2. Léo
3. Raphaël
4. Maël
5. Louis
6. Noah
7. Jules
8. Arthur
9. Adam
10. Lucas

Other names from further down the list that should be added to the mix include Ayden (ranked 30), Yanis (ranked 60), Ezio (ranked 86), Zayn (ranked 97), and Aloïs (ranked 210).

Here are the top baby girl names in France in 2022:

1. Jade
2. Louise
3. Ambre
4. Alba
5. Emma
6. Rose
7. Alice
8. Romy
9. Anna
10. Lina

Other names from further down the list that should be added to the mix include Inaya (ranked 19), Romane (ranked 33), Aurore (ranked 182), Mélia (ranked 308), and Solène (ranked 391).

For the full list of popular baby names in France, visit Behind the Name.