200 French Dog Names, Translated

Written by

Kosar Koohi

Editor at Pretty Fluffy

Updated 11 October 202612 min read

Editor · Dog Lover · Pet Expert

About Kosar

Kosar is the editor of Pretty Fluffy, a lifelong dog lover, and the proud mom of Yuki, a Maltese who has very high standards. So does Kosar. She researches everything obsessively before it ever makes it onto the page.

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A French name does two jobs at once. It sounds lovely called across a park, and it nearly always means something: Belle is beautiful, Bijou is a jewel, and Filou is the little rascal who has just left the room with a sock. The hard part is knowing which is which before it goes on a tag. All 200 French dog names here come with a translation or a short note on where they come from, so the meaning is never a surprise. For a wider search, this larger collection of dog names for every pup covers every other style.

The list runs from classic girl and boy names through pet names, French Bulldog picks and Cajun favorites, with pronunciation help at the end. The dog name generator is a quick way to settle a tie between two finalists.

French Girl Dog Names From Classic to Rare

French girl names tend to be short, soft and easy to call, which is most of what a dog needs from a name. Mimi, Coco, Gigi and Fifi have been small dog favorites for generations, and all four turn up again among these Chihuahua dog names.

Popular French Female Dog Names

These are the ones a French grandmother would recognize at once. Belle sits at the top here and again in these Disney dog names, alongside Marie and Duchess from The Aristocats.

• Belle - beautiful. The classic choice.
• Coco - after Coco Chanel. Effortlessly chic.
• Fifi - a pet form of Joséphine.
• Gigi - the heroine of Colette's novella.
• Mimi - French slang for cute.
• Lulu - short for Louise or Lucie.
• Chloé - a long standing French favorite.
• Sophie - wisdom.
• Amélie - after the whimsical film heroine.
• Margot - little pearl.
• Manon - a pet form of Marie.
• Juliette - youthful.
• Louise - famous in battle.
• Zoé - life.
• Léa - short, soft, loved across France.
• Babette - a pet form of Élisabeth.
• Brigitte - strength. Also Bardot.
• Céline - heavenly.
• Odette - old fashioned and elegant.
• Giselle - after the romantic ballet.
• Madeleine - also a shell shaped cake.
• Camille - works for girls and boys.

Unique French Girl Names With Meaning

These are ordinary French words that happen to make lovely names. Fleur and Marguerite come straight from the garden, like these flower names for dogs.

• Fleur - flower.
• Marguerite - daisy.
• Capucine - nasturtium. Bright and rare.
• Étoile - star.
• Lune - moon.
• Neige - snow. For white coats.
• Soleil - sun. For golden coats.
• Océane - of the ocean. For swimmers.
• Perle - pearl.
• Plume - feather. Light on her feet.
• Reine - queen.
• Joie - joy.
• Aimée - beloved.
• Amie - friend.
• Blanche - white.
• Minuit - midnight. For black coats.
• Anaïs - graceful.
• Sylvie - of the forest.
• Esmé - esteemed, loved.
• Vivienne - lively.
• Félicité - happiness.
• Colombe - dove.

French Boy Dog Names for Gentlemen and Rascals

French boy names run from kings and painters to a few choice words for a troublemaker. Most are one or two syllables, which makes them easy to call and hard to mishear.

Classic French Male Dog Names

Names with a little history behind them. Maurice and Bernard suit a dog who seems to have been born middle aged, and both appear among these old man dog names.

• Beau - handsome.
• Louis - a long line of French kings.
• Pierre - stone, rock.
• Jacques - the French form of James.
• Henri - ruler of the home.
• Marcel - little warrior.
• Gaston - from Gascony. Slightly pompous.
• Maurice - a vintage gentleman's name.
• Claude - as in Monet and Debussy.
• Rémy - oarsman. Also the Ratatouille chef.
• Jules - youthful. As in Jules Verne.
• Léon - lion.
• Luc - light.
• Olivier - olive tree.
• Pascal - born at Easter.
• Bastien - short for Sébastien.
• Benoît - blessed.
• Étienne - the French form of Stephen.
• Guillaume - the French form of William.
• Bernard - brave as a bear.

Unique French Male Names With Meaning

Plain French words again, this time with more muscle. Loup, Ours and Orage would be at home among these nature dog names for outdoorsy pups.

• Roi - king.
• Loup - wolf.
• Ours - bear. For big dogs.
• Fort - strong.
• Ciel - sky. For blue eyes.
• Orage - storm.
• Tonnerre - thunder.
• Noir - black.
• Gris - gray.
• Ombre - shadow. Follows you everywhere.
• Sable - sand. For sandy coats.
• Filou - little rascal. A French dog classic.
• Malin - clever, a bit sly.
• Coquin - cheeky.
• Chevalier - knight.
• Duc - duke.
• Fidèle - faithful.
• Zéphyr - a gentle west wind.
• Noël - Christmas. For December puppies.
• Félix - lucky, happy.

Cute French Names for Small and Sweet Dogs

French is generous with pet names, and half of them are edible. Caramel and Praline are in the food list here and also among these fall dog names, where warm brown coats are the theme.

Sweet French Terms of Endearment

These are what French families call the people they love, and very often the dog as well.

• Chouchou - the little favorite.
• Chou - literally cabbage, said as sweetheart.
• Bisou - kiss.
• Doudou - a child's cuddly toy.
• Loulou - a pet name, and French for Pomeranian.
• Toutou - doggy, in children's French.
• Pitou - Quebec's word for a pup.
• Puce - literally flea, said as sweetie.
• Chérie - darling.
• Mignon - cute.
• Trésor - treasure.
• Bébé - baby.
• Petit - small.
• Nounours - teddy bear.
• Câlin - cuddle.
• Amour - love.

French Food Names From Bakery to Cheese Board

A bakery window is a fine place to name a dog. Croissant already has a spot among these funny dog names, and the rest of the counter is just as good.

• Croissant - for a dog who curls up.
• Brioche - buttery bread. For golden coats.
• Baguette - for the long and lean.
• Macaron - an almond meringue cookie.
• Éclair - a pastry, and lightning.
• Praline - caramelized nut candy.
• Bonbon - candy.
• Suzette - as in crêpes Suzette.
• Truffe - truffle, and a dog's nose.
• Chouquette - a tiny sugared puff.
• Tatin - the upside down apple tart.
• Brie - soft, pale and mild.
• Roquefort - the blue cheese. Strong character.
• Miel - honey.
• Caramel - for a toffee colored coat.
• Noisette - hazelnut. For brown coats.
• Cannelle - cinnamon.
• Champagne - for a cream coat.
• Cornichon - a tiny pickle.
• Dijon - mustard, with some bite.

Dog Names for French Bulldogs and Other French Breeds

A Frenchie is compact, comic and entirely sure of herself, and French has a whole vocabulary for exactly that shape. For the breed itself, including the rare long haired variety, this Fluffy French Bulldog breed guide has the details.

Girl Names for a French Bulldog

Blue and lilac coats have their own words in French, and so do very small, very round puppies.

• Bulle - bubble.
• Boulette - little meatball.
• Pépite - nugget, as in gold.
• Crevette - shrimp. For the smallest.
• Poupette - little doll.
• Coquette - a flirt.
• Prune - plum.
• Myrtille - blueberry. For blue coats.
• Lilas - lilac. For lilac coats.

Boy Names for a French Bulldog

Sturdy, snoring and convinced he is in charge. The bravado is mostly show, as this look at whether French Bulldogs are aggressive explains.

• Bouboule - little ball. Toulouse-Lautrec drew one.
• Patapouf - roly poly.
• Costaud - sturdy, strong.
• Trapu - stocky.
• Ronfleur - the snorer.
• Moustache - for a whiskery face.
• Bouchon - cork, and a pet name.
• Napoléon - certain he runs the house.
• Fauve - fawn, the coat color.
• Monsieur - for a dog in a bow tie.

Names for Poodles and Other French Breeds

Curly coats run through the breeds France claims as its own, from the Poodle to the Bichon Frise and the Barbet, all covered in this guide to curly haired dogs.

• Papillon - butterfly, after the ears.
• Bichon - lap dog. Also a pet name.
• Frisé - curly.
• Bouclette - little curl.
• Pompon - pom pom, like a Poodle clip.
• Mouton - sheep. For woolly coats.
• Nuage - cloud. For white fluff.
• Basset - low to the ground.

Cajun French Names for Louisiana Dogs

Cajun French grew up in Louisiana among the descendants of Acadian settlers, and its names are warmer, saltier and a good deal hungrier than the Parisian ones.

Cajun Food Names From a Louisiana Kitchen

• Gumbo - Louisiana's famous stew.
• Roux - the base of a gumbo. Russet coats.
• Beignet - a powdered sugar doughnut.
• Boudin - Cajun rice and pork sausage.
• Jambalaya - a one pot rice dish.
• Étouffée - a smothered shellfish stew.
• Andouille - smoked sausage. For long dogs.
• Cayenne - the red pepper. For red coats.

Bayou and Mardi Gras Names

Rougarou, the werewolf said to roam the swamps, would fit right in among these Halloween dog names.

• Bayou - a slow, marshy stream.
• Boudreaux - the classic Cajun surname.
• Thibodeaux - another, said TIB-uh-doh.
• Evangeline - the Acadian heroine of Longfellow's poem.
• Acadie - Acadia, where the story began.
• Cher - dear, said like sha.
• Zydeco - Louisiana's accordion dance music.
• Lagniappe - a little something extra.
• Mardi - as in Mardi Gras.
• Rougarou - the swamp werewolf of legend.
• Pirogue - a flat bottomed bayou boat.
• T-Beau - T means little in Cajun nicknames.

French Inspired Names From Paris, Fashion and Art

A name does not have to be a word. France has cities, couture houses and painters to spare, and most of them sound better on a dog than they have any right to.

Paris and French Place Names

• Paris - the obvious one, and still lovely.
• Eiffel - after the tower and its engineer.
• Seine - the river through Paris.
• Louvre - home of the Mona Lisa.
• Versailles - the palace. For regal dogs.
• Bordeaux - wine country. For deep red coats.
• Provence - lavender fields and sunshine.
• Chamonix - the Alpine town. For snow dogs.
• Biarritz - the surf town. For water dogs.

French Fashion House Names

For the dog who already dresses better than the rest of the household. These pair naturally with the labels in this roundup of luxury dog harnesses and leash sets.

• Chanel - the house Coco built.
• Dior - the New Look, in four letters.
• Givenchy - Audrey Hepburn's couturier.
• Hermès - began as a harness maker.
• Yves - as in Saint Laurent.
• Cartier - the jeweler with the panther.
• Vuitton - the trunk maker.
• Louboutin - the red soled shoes.

French Artists, Writers and Icons

Painters make wonderful dog names, and writers better ones. For a more recent bookshelf, Fleur Delacour carries the flag for France among these Harry Potter dog names.

• Monet - water lilies and soft light.
• Matisse - bold color. For bright personalities.
• Renoir - painter of sunny afternoons.
• Degas - painter of dancers.
• Rodin - sculptor of The Thinker.
• Colette - the novelist who adored her bulldogs.
• Voltaire - sharp tongued and clever.
• Hugo - Victor Hugo, of Les Misérables.
• Dumas - author of The Three Musketeers.
• Piaf - Édith Piaf, the little sparrow.
• Bardot - film star and animal campaigner.
• Pasteur - developed the rabies vaccine.

Famous Dogs From French Comics and Film

French speaking readers grew up with these dogs. Belle, from the first list, is also the great white mountain dog of Belle and Sebastian.

• Idéfix - Obelix's tiny dog. Dogmatix in English.
• Milou - Tintin's white terrier. Snowy in English.
• Rantanplan - Lucky Luke's dim, devoted hound.
• Pollux - Dougal of The Magic Roundabout, in French.

How to Choose a Dog Name in French

Good French dog names are short, end on a clear vowel and carry a meaning that suits the dog. For a girl, Belle (beautiful), Coco, Fleur (flower) and Margot (little pearl) are the classics. For a boy, Beau (handsome), Louis, Rémy and Loup (wolf) are hard to beat. Small dogs suit pet names such as Fifi, Bisou and Chouchou, and a French Bulldog wears Bouboule or Patapouf very well.

How Dogs Are Named in France

In France, pedigree puppies are named by the alphabet. Each year is assigned a letter, and every puppy entered in the national studbook that year receives an official name beginning with it. The cycle skips K, Q, W, X, Y and Z, so the same letter comes round again every twenty years. The rule covers only the name on the pedigree. The everyday name is the family's choice, and mixed breeds are free of the system altogether.

Pronouncing French Names and Accents on a Dog Collar Tag

A few of these look harder than they are. Benoît is ben-WAH, Guillaume is gee-YOHM, Étienne is ay-TYEN and Anaïs is ah-nah-EESS. Loup is simply LOO, and Ours is OORSS. Final consonants are usually silent, which is why Margot and Bordeaux both end in an oh sound.

Accents are part of the spelling in French, but an engraved tag is forgiving. Rémy without the accent is still Rémy to the dog, so it can safely be left off anything ordered from this directory of dog collars, leads and harnesses.

Teaching a Dog a Name in French

A dog does not know or mind which language her name comes from. She learns it as a sound that predicts good things, so the usual advice applies: say it brightly, reward the moment she looks up, and add it early to a new puppy routine. One caution is that Beau, Margot and Bordeaux all rhyme with no, the word a puppy hears most.

Dogs do notice the sound of a language, though. In a study published in the journal Animal Cognition, pet dogs from English speaking and Spanish speaking homes could tell the two languages apart, and they listened longer to the one they did not hear at home. An unfamiliar sound, in other words, is no handicap.

French Names by Coat Color and Size

Noir, Minuit and Ombre belong on a black coat, Neige, Blanche and Nuage on a white one. Caramel, Noisette and Cannelle suit brown, while Soleil, Miel and Brioche suit gold. Myrtille and Lilas were made for the blue and lilac shades. Ours, Tonnerre and Roi want a big dog behind them, and Puce, Crevette and Petit are best kept for the very small.

Whichever one wins, say it the way that comes naturally. No dog has ever corrected an accent, and she will come running to Fleur said in any voice at all, provided it is the voice she loves.