If you’ve just gotten that cute little puppy and are looking for the perfect French dog name, you’ve come to the right place.
French people love dogs. The stereotypical Parisian is the one who takes his dog everywhere but doesn’t clean up after him! (Let’s try not to do that, shall we?)
There are of course the typical and funny dog names in French like:
- Monsieur Le Chien – Monsieur the Dog
- Madame La Chienne – Madame the Dog
- Chouchou – little cabbage
- Monsieur/Madame Pattes – Mister/Missus Paws
But there are a lot more unique names than that, so let’s get to it, shall we?!
Naming a Pure-bred in France
There’s a big difference when naming a dog in France, if the dog is a pure-bred versus a mixed-breed. There is actually a law. Dating back to 1926, the French rules say the name of the pure-bred dog must begin with the designated letter after the year that the dog was born in.
The letters run in alphabetical order, with certain letters like K, Q, W, X, Y, and Z have been excluded from the list. There were too few names starting with those letters, and it resulted in too many dogs having the same name. (French cat names for purebreds also are similarly regulated.)
Chiot –> Chien
English translation: Puppy –> Dog
These dogs are registered in a national database run by a Canine Association. The database tracks the dog’s family tree and DNA, and is used for breeding.
Based on the alphabet, you can pick whatever name you want, though the association does prefer that the names have two syllables.
Year | Name starting with | Examples of names |
---|---|---|
2007 | C | Cacahuète, Chipounette, Coquette, Coquinou |
2008 | D | Démoiselle, Dagobert, Douce, Doudou |
2009 | E | Etoile, Essy, Eiko, Eureka |
2010 | F | Figaro, Fleurette, Fadou, Filou |
2011 | G | Galipette, Gaillard, Gin, Gommette |
2012 | H | Hipo, Hisop, Henki, Houpett |
2013 | I | Isa, Isabeau, Irvine, Ilko |
2014 | J | Joie, Jouer (m), Joueuse (f), Joujou |
2015 | L | Léna, Linette, Laure, Leroy |
2016 | M | Manu, Magou, Margot, Marcel |
2017 | N | Naf-naf, Noemie, Nanette, Nostradamus |
2018 | O | Obelix, Orfeus, Oursin, Océane |
2019 | P | Philou, Pipou, Plouf, Pipeau |
2020 | R | Rafale, Ratatouille, Roquette, Risette |
2021 | S | Salomé, Sucette, Stylo, Sartre |
2022 | T | Tahiti, Tartare, Tchoupi, Thibert |
2023 | U | Ubert, Uno, Ubu, Unis |
2024 | V | Vero, Vanille, Vicomte, Valentin |
2025 | A | Amour, Abeille, Anais, Aslan |
2026 | B | Babouchka, Biquette, Boulette, Brioche |
Now, I should mention that France has one naming convention, while nearby French-speaking countries like Belgium and Luxembourg have different alphabet per year schedules. Same principle, different alphabet.
If you are like me though and you got your dog from the pound, you are not particularly fussed if your little doggy sticks to the above naming schedule. So here are some more French dog names and their meanings, to give you a few more ideas.
Male Dog Names
Now there are a lot of classic French names that I could have gone with here, but I stuck to cute names for dogs, that you wouldn’t necessarily give a child, like Asterix. Some of these names are quite popular for children as well, however, like Hugo.
Here are my top male French names for dogs:
- Ami – friend
- Aslan – meaning “lion”
- Asterix – famous french comic book character
- Beau – handsome
- Boursin – a type of French cheese spread
- Camembert – a type of french cheese
- Chanceux – lucky
- Dagobert – after a French King in a children’s song, male name of Celtic origin
- Descartes – after the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes
- Enzo – conquering
- Etienne – star
- Figaro – named after a French newspaper called “le Figaro”
- Filou – short nickname for Philipe
- Franc – old name for French person. Variation can be the Breton male name “Fragan” and the Provençal boys’ name “Frances”
- Gaillard – popular name in the south of France, meaning courageous
- Gaston – guest
- Gin – for the alchoholic drink
- Henki – lord on earth
- Heureux – happy (female version is heureuse)
- Hipo – from the old French name Hippolyte
- Hisop – very old name
- Houpett – after the last name “huppe”, which is a type of bird
- Hugo – after Victor Hugo
- Idéfix – the dog in the Asterix comics
- Irvine – an Alsacian name, meaning army and friend
- Jouer – playful male (Joueuse is the female version)
- Leroy – after the French hardware store Leroy Merlin
- Magou – after the french word “magouille”, meaning a bit of a mess or a maneuver
- Manu – short for Emmanuel, meaning “God is with us”
- Marcel – old French name, meaning “dedicated to Mars”
- Mignon – cute (female version is mignonne)
- Nostradamus – after the French astrologer from St-Rémy de Provence
- Obelix – from the Asterix and Obelix comic books
- Orfeus – meaning “obscurity in the night”
- Oursin – small bear
- Pascal – related to easter
- Philou – short nickname for Philipe
- Pipou – excited, awake
- Rafale – after the French fighter jet
- Sartre – after the French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre
- Stylo – meaning “pen” in English
- T’choupi – pronouced “choupi”, after the French children’s book series and cartoon
- Thibert – brilliant
- Tintin – famous french comic book character
- Ubert – illustrious
- Ubu – a cynic
- Uno – after the card game
- Valentin – Valentine in French (male)
- Vicomte – A French nobility title
- Victor – after Victor Hugo
- Voltaire – famous french writer
- Yves – after Yves St. Laurent, French fashion designer
☞ READ MORE: 139 French Baby Boy Names that you will love
Female Canine names
Some French names are traditionally used only for female dogs, such as baguette because in French the word for bread is feminine: une baguette. Most English speakers find this quite illogical though, as in why is chair (une chaise) feminine while the cushion (un coussin) is masculine.
As the famous expat-French joke says: If you can’t remember if it is “un baguette” or “une baguette”, just ask for “deux baguettes” (2 baguettes). Anyway, here are the top female French dog names, along with their meaning in English.
- Amie – friend
- Anaïs – grace
- Antoinette – 2nd name of French Queen Marie-Antoinette
- Babette – nickname version of Elisabeth
- Babouchka – grandma
- Baguette – a french bread
- Belle – beautiful
- Biquette – female goat
- Bisette – version of bisous meaning kiss
- Blanche – white
- Boulette – a small ball, an error
- Brie – a french cheese
- Brioche – a type of french bread/cake
- Brigitte – after French actress Brigitte Bardot
- Chanel – after Coco Chanel, French fashion designer
- Cherie – my dear (a french term of endearment)
- Chipounette – a french nickname of one you love
- Clareto – illustrious”; Provencal female version “Claire”
- Coco – after Coco Chanel, French fashion designer
- Coquine – Tease
- Coquette – one who teases
- Cosette – small and tiny
- Démoiselle – lady, from mademoiselle. Can sometimes be a courtesan.
- Douce – soft
- Eclair – a French dessert
- Esme – beloved
- Fadou – conscientious
- Fleur – flower
- Fleurette – a small flower
- Galipette – from the French expression “faire des galipettes“, meaning to tumble around
- Gamine – playful, young girl
- Heureuse – happy (male version is heureux)
- Isa – meaning “God is generous”
- Joie – joy
- Joueuse – playful female (Jouer is the male version)
- Juliette – french version of Juliet
- Laure – winner
- Léna – from the name Hélène, meaning a burst of sunshine
- Lilou – version of loulou meaning my dear
- Linette – linen
- Loulou – my darling
- Maëlle, Maëlie – princess, typical Celtic/Breton female name
- Manette – a video game controller (eg. for playstation)
- Margot – from the name Marguerite, meaning “pearl”
- Mignonne – cute (male version is mignon)
- Nana – French slang for lady
- Nanette – Grace
- Noemie – loveable, agreeable
- Océane – ocean
- Reine – Queen
- Risette – one who sings
- Roquette – a type of salad leaf
- Rosette – rose
- Salomé – peace or plentitude
- Sophie – smart
- Sucette – a lollipop
- Tahiti – a French overseas territory
- Tulipe – the flower tulip
- Vanille – vanilla
- Vivienne – alive
- Yuna – variation of the name “Yvonne”, celtic female name after saint from Wales.
☞ READ MORE: 183 French Baby Girl Names that are too chic for words
Unisex Dog Names
If you are looking for a French unisex name, I’ve got you covered. Gender-neutral and non-binary names have never been more popular, with parents of both human babies and animal puppies choosing them for their little ones.
Here are my top French unisex dog names:
- Amour – love
- Abeille – a bee
- Bastille – after the Place de la Bastille in Paris, where the French revolution started
- Bijou – jewel
- Bisou – kiss
- Bleu – blue
- Bonbon – candy
- Cacahuète – a peanut
- Cezanne – after the French painter
- Chevalier – knight
- Coquinou – one who teases
- Croissant – french breakfast pastry
- Crêpe – a french pancake that can be savory or sweet
- Doudou – what small children in France call their stuffed toy
- Eiko – prosperous
- Élie – from God, of celtic tradition.
- Eiffel – after Gustave Eiffel who built the Eiffel Tower.
- Elysée – Palais Elysée, the official residence of the French President near the Champs Elysées in Paris.
- Essy – a form of the French word “essayer”, meaning to try
- Étoile – a star
- Eureka – ancient Greek, meaning “I found it”
- Fleuve – river
- Fondue – melted cheese used as a bread dip
- Garnier – after the Opéra Garnier in Paris
- Givenchy – after French fashion house and designer Hubert de Givenchy
- Gommette – an eraser
- Hermès – after French fashion house and designer Thierry Hermès
- Isabeau – promise of God
- Joujou – from the French word “jouer”, meaning to play
- Lafayette – after the Marquis de Lafayette
- Libellule – dragonfly
- Louboutin – after the red-heeled shoes
- Louis (Louie) – the name of several French Kings
- Macaron – a type of French dessert
- Marseille – after the city in Provence
- Matisse – French painter
- Milou – worker
- Monet – French painter
- Montpellier – after the city in the South of France
- Naf-naf – a clothing store in France which used to be called Naphtaline
- Papillon – butterfly
- Parfait – perfect
- Pipeau – from the French expression “c’est du pipeau“, meaning “it’s not serious”
- Plouf – the french sound for “splash”
- Pogba – after the famous French football player Paul Pogba
- Pompidou – last name of a former French president
- Ratatouille – a famous dish from Provence
- Remy – oarsman
- Rivière – river
- Savon – soap
- Soleil – sun
- Souffle – a French pastry dish filled with cheese
- Tatin – after the dessert tarte tatin
- Triomphe – after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
- Zidane – after the famous French football player Zinadine Zidane (1990s)
☞ READ MORE: 34+ French Unisex Baby Names that are fantastic
Tips for picking a French name
Now, there are several tips to picking a French dog name:
- First of all, make sure you understand the meaning of the name of your dog. If someone asks you at a work event what the name of your dog means, you should be able to explain it.
- Secondly, pick a short pronounceable name that you are comfortable calling out on an everyday basis. If you are trying to get the dog to follow commands while you are at the park, it needs to be a name that both you and the dog are comfortable with.
- And finally, pick the name you love! There is no need to worry about what other people think, pick a crazy, out-of-the-box name and you will be happier for it.
And with that, congratulations on the new addition to your family! Have you found your perfect puppy name? For even more names, head over to my lists of girl, boy, and unisex baby names. A bientôt!
¹ Featured Image: Dakota Monk