Pronounce common French names correctly at your next soirée!
French names aren't the most intuitive to pronounce. The language can often seem to outsiders as if it is purposely difficult. And oftentimes, attempts to imitate the sounds of French can come across as pretentious.
We are firm believers in striking a middle ground between over-pronouncing and correctly pronouncing. Although it may seem goofy at times to pronounce a name the way it's meant to be pronounced, over time it can begin to feel natural.
French is a difficult language
It might be hard to know where exactly to start with French. After all, the language has been so influential on English that some names seem remarkably similar. But there is a clear difference between the two that can be seen when listening to a native speaker pronounce names.
In the vein of other pieces we've done – such as our comprehensive list of the 100 most popular Vietnamese names – we've put together 100 common French names you can learn how to pronounce today.
The feminine French names:
- Marie
- Camille
- Léa
- Manon
- Chloé
- Laura
- Julie
- Sarah
- Pauline
- Mathilde
- Marine
- Emma
- Marion
- Lucie
- Anaïs
- Océane
- Justine
- Morgane
- Clara
- Charlotte
- Juliette
- Emilie
- Lisa
- Mélanie
- Elodie
- Claire
- Inès
- Margaux
- Alice
- Amandine
- Audrey
- Louise
- Noémie
- Clémence
- Maéva
- Melissa
- Amélie
- Eva
- Caroline
- Céline
- Célia
- Fanny
- Elise
- Sophie
- Margot
- Elisa
- Aurélie
- Jade
- Estelle
- Romane
And the masculine French names:
- Thomas
- Nicolas
- Julien
- Quentin
- Maxime
- Alexandre
- Antoine
- Kevin
- Clement
- Romain
- Pierre
- Lucas
- Florian
- Guillaume
- Valentin
- Jérémy
- Hugo
- Alexis
- Anthony
- Theo
- Paul
- Mathieu
- Benjamin
- Adrien
- Vincent
- Alex
- Arthur
- Louis
- Baptiste
- Dylan
- Corentin
- Thibault
- Jordan
- Nathan
- Simon
- Axel
- Matthieu
- Léo
- Sebastien
- Aurélien
- Victor
- Loïc
- Rémi
- Arnaud
- Tom
- David
- Jonathan
- Damien
- Enzo
- Bastien
And there you have it, the most common French names around. We hope that getting a chance to listen to these names will help you get a better understanding of French pronunciation. Armed with NameShouts, you'll be able to close those deals, make those connections, or help your students feel like they're a part of something.
