200 Most Common French Last Names & Meanings

French is spoken in 51 countries around the world. It is estimated that about 35% of English words come from French. As such, I have hand-picked the 200 most common French last names with meanings included.

List Of The Most Common French Last Names and Their Meanings:

Durand

Durand means enduring and is from the Latin Durandus. Former footballer Alain Durand played as a midfielder for Troyes.

Boucher

From bouc, goat, for a butcher.

Le Gall

From Breton gall, Frenchman or stranger.

Beaulieu

”Beautiful place.”

Maillard

”Mallet,” and a browning reaction in seared steak.

Jourdain

From the river Jordan, ”to flow down.”

Martin

”God of war” or ”dedicated to Mars.” In France it has its origins in Martin of Tours who is the patron saint of soldiers and conscientious objectors.

Lefebvre

Lefebvre comes from the Old French fevre, ”craftsman.” The English Feaver has roots in Lefebvre.

Roland

”Famous land,” and a knight of a medieval French epic.

Laroche

Rock.

Pascal

”Easter,” and a programming language after Blaise Pascal.

Poulain

”Foal,” and Amélie, a shy Paris waitress on film.

Forestier

Forester.

Bernard

It is from the West Germanic Bernhard that is symbolizing strong as a bear. About 1 in 400 Frenchmen is named Bernard.

Brodeur

”Embroiderer.”

Bonheur

Rosa Bonheur (”happiness”) painted The Horse Fair.

Marceau

From Marcellus, ”of Mars.”

Roux

Roux is from rous, ”red” or ”red-haired.”

Dubois

”From the woods” and has origins in the French phrase du bois. It is also spelled Du Bois or DuBois. Guillaume Dubois was a cardinal and a minister in the administration of Philippe II. Cardinal Guillaume Dubois is played by Jean Rochefort in the movie ”Que la fête commence…”

Vincent

It comes from Latin vincere, ”to conquer.”

Mathieu

Mathieu is linked to the Hebrew Mattithiah, ”gift of Yahweh.” It also originates in the Ancient Greek Matthaios.

Mercier

Mercier is an occupational name that means ”merchant.” It comes from the Latin merciarius (”one who trades”). The English version is Mercer.

Michel

It is a variant of Michael. Michel has Hebrew origins and is meaning ”one who is like God.” In the Bible Michael is the chief of the angels and archangels

Robert

Robert has its origins in the Old Germanic Hrodebert (shining with glory).

Bertrand

“Stately hero,” and also has Germanic roots. Film director Bertrand Blier won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with the film Get Out Your Handkerchiefs.

Richard

It is from Old High German ”Ricohard” and has a meaning that I like, “strong in rule.” Riccardo is the variant in Italian, Ricardo in Spanish and Portuguese and Rickard in Swedish. Richard I was the Count of Rouen.

Fournier

Fournier is a French occupational name for ”baker.” It comes from the Latin furnarius.

Landry

It combines land and ric, ruler.

Prévost

”Provost,” as well as an abbé who wrote Manon Lescaut.

Lépine

”Thorn bush.”

Champagne

”Open country,” or a man from Champagne.

Arnaud

Eagle power.

Bourgeois

From bourg, town, for a town dweller.

Laurier

Wilfrid Laurier (”laurel tree”) was Canada’s first French-speaking prime minister.

Hamel

”Hamlet.”

Rousseau

”Red-haired” or ”red,” and is from ”roux.”

Lecomte

Lecomte is from “conte”, “count.” It was a nickname for someone in the service of a count.

Gosselin

Little Goth.

Lefort

”Strong.”

Archambault

From erchan, genuine, and bald, bold.

Denis

”Of Dionysus,” and a martyred bishop of Paris.

Lucas

Light, or a man from Lucania.

Lemaître

Master.

Petit

”Little” or ”small.” It is pronounced “puh-TEE” and it was popular in the medieval era in France as a nickname.

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Blanc

”Fair” or ”white.” Laurent Blanc played 97 games for the French football national team.

Poisson

”Fish,” and a probability distribution in math.

Renard

”Strong counsel,” or ”fox.”

Labbé

”Abbot.”

Taillefer

”Cut iron,” and a minstrel who rode first into battle at Hastings.

Lallemand

”German”.

Cordier

Rope maker.

Langlois

Henri Langlois (”Englishman”) co-founded the Cinémathèque française.

Potier

Potter.

Leroy

“King,” and has Norman roots. Lee Roy and Leeroy are other forms.

Dumont

It is from the Old French du mont that means “of the mount.” Dumont is in the top 50 most common last names in France.

Barbier

Barber.

Deschamps

”From the fields,” and a World Cup winner as player and coach.

Legris

Grey-haired.

Moreau

Moreau has its origins in the word more (dark-skinned). It was initially used as a nickname for someone with dark skin.

Lacoste

René Lacoste (”slope”) wore a crocodile on his tennis shirts.

Clément

Merciful.

Lefranc

”Frank,” or ”free.”

Bouvier

”Ox herder,” and Jacqueline Kennedy’s maiden name.

Fauconnier

”Falconer.”

Raymond

From Raginmund, ”wise protector.”

Tanguy

It comes from Breton tan, fire, and ki, dog. It is pronounced tahn-GEE.

Bellamy

Bellamy is from the Latin bellum/bellus and combines the words beau/bel (”handsome”) and ami (”companion”).

Toussaint

All Saints’ Day.

Dulac

”Of the lake”.

Thibault

It combines theud, people, and bald, bold.

Lacroix

“The cross.” Gérald Lacroix was made a cardinal in 2014 and has served as Archbishop of Quebec.

Verne

”Alder tree.” Jules Verne is the author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.

Lacour

Courtyard.

Benoît

From Latin benedictus, blessed.

Lejeune

”Young.”

Marchand

Léon Marchand (”trader”) won four gold medals at the Paris Olympics.

Lajoie

Lajoie has a meaning that I love: ”joy.”

Masson

”Mason.”

Cartier

Jacques Cartier (”carter”) was the first to write down the word Canada.

Lagarde

Guard, or watchtower.

Sauvage

”Wild.”

Blondel

”Little blond,” and a minstrel who, in legend, found a captive king by song.

Roger

”Famous spear.”

Duchêne

It has origins in du chêne, ”of the oak.”

Bailly

”Bailiff.” It is pronounced bah-YEE.

Maréchal

”Horse servant,” ”farrier,” ”marshal” or ”army chief.”

Gervais

”Spear servant,” and comedian Ricky Gervais.

Poirier

Pear tree.

Montfort

Simon de Montfort (”strong mount”) called an early English parliament.

Lacombe

”Small valley.”

Pelletier

”Furrier,” as well as a chemist who helped isolate quinine.

Gauthier

It is symbolizing “powerful warrior” or “ruler of the army.” Gauthier de Costes was a novelist who wrote several long heroic romances.

Lafleur

”Flower.”

Philippe

”Lover of horses.”

Bonnet

From bonnet, a cap, for a hat maker.

Coulomb

”Dove,” as well as a unit of electric charge.

Lebeau

Handsome.

Lenfant

Pierre L’Enfant (”child”) made a plan for Washington, D.C.

Rivière

”River.”

Racine

Jean Racine (”root”) wrote Phèdre.

Baron

”Free man.”

Simon

”Listening” or ”to hear.” Simonne is a French feminine form of Simon.

Laurent

Laurent finds its origins in the French language and is Roman Laurentius, “from Laurentum.” The feminine form of Laurent is Laurence.

Mignon

Mignon cute/darling.

Lebreton

A Breton.

Perrin

”Stone” or ”rock.” Perrin is a diminutive of Pierre or Peter. Peter comes directly from the Greek Petros.

Morel

“Dark,” and fits well for Gothic parents (I also wrote an article about Gothic names).

Lecoq

Rooster.

Joly

Joly pretty/cheerful.

Desjardins

It comes from des jardins, ”from the gardens.”

Berger

Sheep herder.

Léger

”Light,” or from Leodegar, ”people’s spear.”

Camus

”Snub-nosed,” and an Algerian-born author of The Stranger.

Gilbert

”Bright pledge.”

Dupré

From du pré, of the meadow.

Lemaire

Mayor.

Fontaine

It is a topographic surname for someone who lived near a well or a spring. La Fontaine and de La Fontaine Fountain are all common variants.

Leloup

”Wolf.”

Chauvin

”Bald,” and Nicolas Chauvin, a soldier of legend, is the root of chauvinism.

Girard

Girard comes from Germanic elements ger (”spear”) and hard (strong).

André

André is a variation of the Greek Andreas, ”warrior” or ”brave.”

Lefèvre

Lefèvre is one of the most common surnames in France. It is an occupational name referring to “the ironworker.”

Guerin

Guerin has its origins in the Old French guarin and is symbolizing “to watch” or ”to guard.”

Lévesque

Lévesque is the equivalent of English Bishop.

Hardy

Hardy comes from ”hardi”, “courageous” that has roots in the Old Frankish hardjan (“to make hard”).

Dufresne

It has origins in du frêne, ”of the ash tree.”

Olivier

”Olive tree.”

Loiseau

Bird.

Bouchard

Eugenie Bouchard (”big mouth”) played in a Wimbledon final.

Lasalle

”Hall,” and an explorer who claimed the Mississippi basin for France.

Bonnefoy

”Good faith.”

Dupont

“Of the bridge.”

Chevalier

Chevalier is from the Latin word caballarius (rider).

Kaplan

Kaplan has origins in the Norman word “caplain”. In Turkey it means ”tiger.”

Tremblay

Tremblay (”someone who lived near a group of aspen trees”) is common in French-speaking Canada.

Charpentier

”Carpenter,” and a composer whose Te Deum opens Eurovision broadcasts.

Meunier

”Miller,” as well as a grape with leaves that look dusted with flour.

Chrétien

”Christian.”

Lemoine

”Monk.”

Legrand

Michel Legrand (”tall”) scored The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Dupuis

Of the well, or of the hill.

Gouin

Gouin (”white”) originated in the province of Brittany and is a cognate of the Welsh Gwyn. Alexandre Goüin was deputy for the department of Indre-et-Loire.

Vaillant

”Valiant.”

Aubry

Martine Aubry (”elf ruler”) brought France its thirty-five-hour week.

Lachapelle

”Chapel.”

Lamarche

Border, or a man from La Marche.

Villeneuve

”New town,” and a Formula One champion from Quebec.

Sénéchal

Steward.

Lambert

Famous throughout the land.

Gagnon

Gagnon is from the verb gaaignier and is symbolizing “to work the land” or “to cultivate.” It is also common in North America.

Lavoie

Lavoie dates to the year 900 and means “the way.” Alexandre Lavoie plays for HDD Olimpija Ljubljana.

Beaugendre

“Handsome son-in-law.”

Garneau

It has roots in the seigneury of Garneau in the region of Poitou. Legarnault and Garneault are variations that I like.

Clair

Clair comes from the Latin clārus, “bright” or “clear.”

Dufour

”Of the oven.”

Lagrange

”Someone who lived by a granary.” Anne-Marie Lagrange has been a member of the Academy of Sciences since 2013.

Cloutier

Its roots are Zacharie Cloutier, a carpenter who immigrated to New France in 1634. It means ”nail seller.”

Laval

It is an alternative spelling of Duval which comes from the Norman “Devall” and is meaning “of the valley.”

Desmoulins

Desmoulins (“from the mill”) was initially a nickname for someone who lived by the mill.

Garon

Garon comes from the Germanic Garo (“ready”). Jesse Garon Presley was the identical twin brother of Elvis Presley. Elvis was actually born 35 minutes after Jesse.

Lebrun

Brown-haired.

Hugo

Victor Hugo (”heart and mind”) wrote Les Misérables.

Normand

”A Norman.”

Bisson

It comes from buisson, a bush.

Legros

Stout.

Germain

”Brother,” or a man from Germany.

Dumas

“Of the estate” or “of the farm” and has roots in the term “du mas”. Alexandre Dumas is the author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. His published works totalled 100K pages.

Lemieux

Mario Lemieux (”better”) won two Stanley Cups as a player.

Leduc

”Duke”.

Gaillard

Gaillard lively/merry.

Rosier

”Rose bush.”

Tessier

From Old French tissier, weaver.

Pasteur

”Shepherd.” 2Louis Pasteur was responsible for disproving the doctrine of spontaneous generation.

Hector

Hector is from the Greek ekhein (“hold in check”).

Kouchner

Kouchner is a cognate of the English language Kushner that is from the Yiddish קושנער.

Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger (”baker”) taught Philip Glass and Quincy Jones.

Courtois

”Courteous,” or ”of a court.”

Hébert

”Bright army,” and Louis Hébert, an early farmer of New France.

Colin

From Nicolas, ”people’s victory.”

Lavigne

Vineyard.

Lamy

Friend.

Tardif

”Slow”.

Corneille

”Crow,” and a playwright who wrote Le Cid.

Lachance

Luck.

Bourdon

”Bumblebee,” ”drone,” ”pilgrim’s staff” or ”great bell.”

Thomas

”Twin.”

Pinson

From Old French pinçon, finch.

Laplace

Pierre-Simon Laplace (”square”) has a math transform is after him.

Picard

From Picardy.

Aubert

It combines adal, noble, and berht, bright.

Noël

”Christmas.”

Lafitte

”Boundary stone,” and a pirate who helped defend New Orleans.

Leclerc

”Clerk,” and a chain of French hypermarkets.

Lapointe

Point of land.

Merle

Merle has a meaning that I like: ”blackbird.”

Lesage

”Wise.”

Lombard

”From Lombardy,” ”long beard,” ”banker” or ”moneylender.”

Lenoir

”Black-haired”.

Renaud

It combines ragin, counsel, and wald, rule.

Doucet

Sweet, or gentle.