girl's name
Claudine
kloh-DEEN
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 170,774
Northern Ireland
#372
2000 births
Claudine is a French girl's name meaning lame, from a Roman family name. Our data marks it stable, and Colette's four Claudine novels of 1900 to 1903 were published under her husband's name rather than her own.
- Claudine is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1948, when 6,460 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 117,911 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Claudine over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 3,160 |
| 1910s | 2,015 |
| 1920s | 4,315 |
| 1930s | 15,970 |
| 1940s | 43,320 |
| 1950s | 55,835 |
| 1960s | 26,880 |
| 1970s | 5,185 |
| 1980s | 1,545 |
| 1990s | 525 |
| 2000s | 135 |
| 2010s | 50 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 30 |
What Claudine means
Claudine means lame. The Latin claudus is the ordinary adjective, and the Roman family that carried it was among the most powerful in the republic.
Where Claudine comes from
Claudine is a French diminutive of Claude, from the Roman gens name Claudius, built on claudus, lame — a byname that stuck to a family regardless of who limped. The Claudii produced consuls, emperors and the Appian Way's builder. Colette wrote the four Claudine novels between 1900 and 1903 and they appeared under her husband's pen name Willy, who locked her in a room to write them and took the royalties; she reclaimed the authorship after their divorce. The books made the name a fashion in France and gave the Claudine collar its name.
Claudine in use
Claudine peaked in France in 1948, when 6,460 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 6053rd in France on 5 births, across 170,774 lifetime births. The 1948 peak came nearly half a century after the novels that made the name fashionable.
How popular is Claudine?
In 2025, Claudine was given to 5 babies in France. It is a rare choice.
Where Claudine is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Claudine
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Claudine also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Claudine over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Claudine
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Claudine in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Claudine
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Claudine — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Claudine
What does the name Claudine mean?
Lame — from the Latin claudus, through the Roman family name Claudius.
Who wrote the Claudine novels?
Colette, though they were published under her husband's pen name Willy, who took the royalties.
Is Claudine related to Claudia?
Yes, both from Claudius. Claudine is the French diminutive of Claude.
How popular is Claudine?
6053rd in France, and our data marks it stable.
Is Claudine a girl's or a boy's name?
Claudine is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Claudine?
Claudine has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Claudine?
Claudine is usually shortened to Claude and Dine.
Is Claudine a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Claudine currently ranks #6,053 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.