Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Manon

Meaning — Manon is a French feminine given name, a diminutive of Marie (Mary), from the Hebrew Miriam — possibly meaning "beloved", "wished-for child", or "bitterness". The -on diminutive suffix gives it the warm, intimate character of a pet name elevated to a full given name. Its most famous literary bearer is the heroine of Abbé Prévost's novel Manon Lescaut (1731), and the name was further immortalized by Massenet's opera.·French origin·Female·ma-NON

Manon Manon carries the irresistible charm and moral complexity of Prévost's heroine — a woman who loves pleasure and freedom too much to be domestic, yet whose capacity for genuine feeling makes her more than a mere coquette. The name projects a vivid, sensual femininity rooted in 18th-century French culture, suited to historical fiction, stories of passion and downfall, or contemporary narratives of free-spirited women.

Best genres for Manon

Historical FictionRomanceLiterary FictionHistorical Romance

Famous characters named Manon

Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut Abbé Prévost

The enchanting, pleasure-loving young woman whose love for the Chevalier des Grieux brings both of them to ruin — one of French literature's most seductive and morally complex heroines.


Variations & nicknames

ManonMarieMarionManon

Pairs well with

Manon MoreauManon DupontManon RenardManon LaurentManon FontaineManon Lescaut

Writing a character named Manon?

Hearth's distraction-free editor helps you develop characters and write every day.

Start writing free

Related names


More French names

Sabine

Sabine is a French feminine given name from the Latin Sabina, meaning "Sabine woman" — referring to the Sabine people of central Italy, one of Rome's oldest neighboring peoples. The Sabine women became famous through the legend of the Rape of the Sabine Women, when Rome's founders abducted Sabine women to populate the new city. Several early Christian martyrs named Sabina gave the name ecclesiastical prestige in France and Italy.

Adelaide

Adelaide is a feminine given name from the Old High German Adalheidis, composed of adal meaning "noble" and heid meaning "kind, sort, type" — thus "of noble kind" or "noble natured". It entered French and Italian use through the medieval Frankish and Lombard aristocracy. In Italy, Adelaïde of Susa was a powerful 11th-century marchioness. The French Adélaïde was borne by a sister of Louis XVI.

Sophie

Sophie is the French form of Sophia, from the Greek sophia meaning "wisdom". In France and across the German-speaking world, Sophie became one of the most beloved feminine names, carried by queens, philosophers' wives, and fictional heroines. Tolstoy's War and Peace and countless French novels feature Sophies as emblems of refined, good-natured intelligence.

Genevieve

Geneviève is a French feminine given name of disputed Celtic or Germanic origin — possibly from the Gaulish geno meaning "race, people" and vefa meaning "woman", or from the Germanic Kenowefa. Saint Geneviève (422–512), patron saint of Paris, reputed to have saved the city from Attila the Hun through prayer, made the name inseparable from French national and Catholic identity.

Maurice

Maurice is a French masculine given name derived from the Latin Mauritius — itself from Maurus meaning "dark-skinned" or "from Mauretania" (North Africa). Saint Maurice, the Roman soldier and Christian martyr executed near the Rhône in 286 AD, became patron of numerous French cities and gave the name its medieval prestige. Maurice is a classic French name, borne by the composer Maurice Ravel and the philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty.

Andre

André is a French masculine given name, the French form of Andrew, from the Greek Andreas derived from aner meaning "man, warrior". The Apostle Andrew (Saint André), patron saint of Scotland, Russia, and Greece, gave the name wide European distribution. In France, André has been one of the classic masculine names, carried by writers, artists, and soldiers — including the Resistance hero André Malraux and the poet André Breton.


Explore more