Many parents are looking for a feminine first name in 2026 that sounds classic without being found in every playground. INSEE data show that an old Latin first name of a Roman empress, given to around 290 little girls in 2025 for a rank around 217th place, has nearly 22,000 carriers born since 1900. It remains fairly discreet on a daily basis, while appearing in the top 200 according to The Official First Names 2026.
This first name is Faustinelong ranked among the slightly dated choices and which is slowly returning to the lists of future parents. The Official First Names 2027based on INSEE files, lists more than 21,000 French women named Faustine, proof that he is already well established. By crossing these figures with the INSEE curves, a trend emerges: Faustine does not explode, but anchors itself as a retro chic first name that could last.
Origin of Faustine: a Latin first name with a very bright meaning
The first name Faustine comes from Latin
faustuswhich can be translated as “happy”, “favored by luck” or “auspicious”. In the feminine, the ending in -ine gives it a soft and current sound, which helps this old first name to remain natural on a child today as well as on an adult. For parents, the idea of a destiny placed under the sign of luck often counts as much as originality.
The story adds a layer of understated prestige. According to the Larousse encyclopedia and works on Antiquity, Faustina the Elder was the wife of Emperor Antoninus the Pious, and Faustina the Younger the mother of Marcus Aurelius, both honored after their death. Nominis, site of the Conference of Bishops of France, also associates Faustina with a saint celebrated on October 5, when certain calendars mention January 15, which offers two possible benchmarks for families attached to traditions.
Popularity of Faustine: after the peak, reassuring stability
According to INSEE, around 22,020 girls were given the first name
Faustine between 1900 and 2025. The record year was 2010 with 1,070 births, then the allocations decreased slowly to reach 290 births in 2025 and a rank close to 216th place. The Official First Names nevertheless continues to rank it in the top 200 for women, a sign of a well-established first name, far from dazzling fashion effects.
Recent curves show a slight erosion between 2021 and 2025, but also a form of “cruising level”. If the media are talking about a “return”, it is mainly because the wave of very modern or Anglo-Saxon first names is slowing down, and parents are rediscovering first names like Faustine in retro lists. The movement is cultural before being a sudden increase in figures.
Faustine, a rare but familiar first name that could last
From INSEE files, Faustine is around 217th place nationally, but 89th place in Pays de la Loire. He estimates the risk of duplicates in class at around 1 chance in 105 in a class of 20 students. In short,
Faustine is well-known enough to be immediately understood and well pronounced, while retaining that unique side that many parents are looking for.
For those who are hesitant, variants exist such as Fausta, Fauste, Faustina or the spelling Faustyne, cited by
The Official First Names 2026. However, statistics show that Faustine remains by far the most used form, the simplest to wear and the most intergenerational, which reinforces the idea of a first name ready to settle down permanently, rather than a fad of a few years.