Beau

Beau meaning

Beau is an international boy's name of French origin.

Handsome, beautiful; also a suitor or admirer

Beau is the French word for "handsome" or "beautiful". The Online Etymology Dictionary traces it to Old French bel, which goes back to Latin bellus, "handsome, fine, pretty". In English, beau was borrowed in the eighteenth century for a suitor or a fashionable young man, and the feminine belle came along with it. As a first name it began as a nickname and is now given in its own right. It is a single syllable, pronounced like the English word "bow" in a ribbon, so parents may need to explain the French spelling to relatives.

Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), s.v. beau · entry beau · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Online Etymology Dictionary, beau · Online Etymology Dictionary, bel

Popularity abroad

• #60 United States, boys 2025 (up 9 from 69 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #108 England and Wales, boys 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Beau · Bo

Related names

Also meaning beauty

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