French Pet Names Because Everything Sounds Better in French

You are a Francophile through and through, you passably speak the language (thank you, high school French!) and whenever you have the time and money, you always book a ticket to Paris (or Lyon, or Provence). You obviously have to give your pet a French-inspired name, but which one? Consider a the possibilities below…

Instagram (sherncho)) / Flickr (sevphoto2)

You know how some dogs and cats curl up into the cutest little crescent shape when they snooze and basically look like everyone's favorite flaky French pastry? Bonus points if your pet has a tawny coat and is actually basically the color of a croissant.

Universal Pictures / Flickr (Trish)

If you are a now-and-always musical theater nerd who can, on cue, do the one man show version of "The Confrontation" from Les Miz, how are you not going to name your pet Jean Valjean? Also, if you ever get another pet, how are you not going to name it Javert? A dog Jean Valjean and a cat Javert? Okay, now you have to do this.

Paramount / Instagram (deniola515)

Minou literally means "kitty" in French, so you're kind of pulling a Holly-Golightly-in-Breakfast-at-Tiffany's by naming your cat, uh, you know, "cat." But it's in French. Everything sounds better in French, obviously.

UGC-Fox Distribution / Instagram (dogleonjr)

You got a rescue pet and she is shy as all get out. Your cat dashes under the bed any time anyone that's not, well, you enters the room. When you go on walks, your dog is freaked out by humans/dogs/moving vehicles/that piece of trash on the ground. Your shy, sensitive, sweet one is an Amelie Poulain for sure.

Instagram (littlebig_dogworld) / Instagram bluntly_brittany

As previously noted, pretty much everything sounds better in French, and that includes terms of endearment. Ma chérie translates as "my dear," which is basically how you feel every time you look into your pet's big, sweet eyes, so there isn't really a dog or a cat this name isn't perfect for.

Flickr (rhoberhto) / Imgur

Some pets are nesters and love nothing more than to curl up inside a big pile of laundry (and shed their hair all over it, hahahaha). So for a dog or cat that's straight up obsessed with rolling around in your clothes, fashion icon Coco Chanel seems like the namesake to go with. Alternatively, if you're obsessed with dressing your pet up and your pet doesn't seem to totally hate wearing little sweaters and costumes, Chanel is obviously the name of choice here.

Flickr (LaTur) / Flickr (Anthony Trumbo)

If you are a Francophile and a cheese lover (that's everyone, right?), Brie is a straight-up adorable name for a pet. Bonus points if you have a fair-haired dog that is basically the color of his namesake soft cheese.

Summit Entertainment / Flickr (evakatharina12)

Are you a French Lit lover with a cat who wields their claws like a sword? Or, do you have a pup that barks like crazy at any stranger that attempts to cross the threshold of your home? Sounds like you have a pint-size musketeer on your hands, so might as well name your little feisty one after the French action hero of yesteryear, D'Artagnan.

Flickr (Martin Thorpe) / Flickr (benny onyeugbo)

You may feel a little silly calling your pet your fur baby (even though it's totally true) but you will feel decidedly not silly, and indeed, even a smidge cool calling your little sweet the French word for "baby." Just say it with a hint of an accent and you're basically chic city.

Wikimedia Commons / Instagram (lovebugsrescue)

300 years after the Battle of Waterloo and we're still joking about Napoleon, the dude who was, yeah, a little on the short side, but could not have left a bigger mark on history. I mean really, can you think of a better name for your six-pound Chihuahua who thinks he's the boss of you and everyone in your house (probably because he is)?

Flickr (barry shurchin) / Imgrum (@MYDEEPDISH17)

For your sweet kitty or puppy who always has a thousand kisses for you when you come home, we don't think there's a better name than Bisou, which literally translates as "kiss." D'awwwwwwww.

Flickr (Fritillaria1) / Flickr (Knut P. Bøyum)

Mon Loulou doesn't have a direct English translation, it's basically French mushy-gushy love talk gibberish nonsense, but it's believed to be a cute-ing up of the French word "loup" AKA "wolf." So if you've got a pup that skews wolfish, you know what to do…

Instagram (everydayguiltypleasure) / Flickr (Kimberly Matsuzaki)

Um, please name your pet for your favorite brunch dish. Please do this. And if your pet is a she, then Croque Madame it is, see how hard was that, not hard at all, now go name your cat Croque Monsieur (or Madame).