Fun Facts About the Name Bleu
- 642 babies named Bleu: U.S. records list 642 babies given the name Bleu from 1880 through 2025. Even 267 girls received the name Bleu.
What Does the Name Bleu Mean?
Bleu is the French word for the color blue, used directly as a personal name. The word descends from Old French bleu, also written blo and blou in medieval texts, which was taken from Frankish, the Germanic language of the Franks. The same Germanic source produced German blau, Dutch blauw, and Old Norse blár. In French this Germanic word displaced the Latin color term caeruleus, which is why French has no Latin-derived word for blue.
English blue and French bleu are the same word: Middle English borrowed it from Old French. Each given name follows the color word of its own language, so the difference between the spellings Bleu and Blue is a difference of language, not of meaning or origin.
Because the name is the color word itself, the meaning is literal. In French, bleu has also developed everyday senses by association with the color - a bruise, a beginner or new recruit, a blue cheese, work overalls. Those senses belong to the common noun, not to the name.
Bleu Name History & Origins
French given names traditionally come from saints' names, Germanic names, or Latin, and the color word bleu is not part of that older stock. The traditional French color name is Blanche ("white"), alongside flower names such as Rose and Violette. Use of Bleu as a personal name is recent and uncommon in French-speaking countries.
In English-speaking countries the name is normally spelled Blue. There the color word has been used as a personal name along with other word and nature names, and Blue also exists as an English surname, generally explained as a nickname from the color - for a person with blue eyes or one who habitually wore blue clothing. The French spelling Bleu is the less usual form of the given name in English.
In French culture the word appears chiefly in titles rather than as a character's name, as in Georges Bataille's novella Le Bleu du ciel, written in the 1930s and published in 1957, and Krzysztof Kieślowski's 1993 film Trois couleurs: Bleu (Three Colors: Blue). A widely publicized recent use of the English spelling is Blue Ivy Carter, born in 2012 to Beyoncé and Jay-Z. These are instances of the color word being used in French and English contexts rather than evidence about the name's origin.
How Popular is the Name Bleu?
Bleu has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2022. Its best rank was #2,326 in 2022.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,751 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 2024 | #6,410 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2023 | #4,281 | 33 | 0.0021% |
| 2022 | #3,836 | 39 | 0.0024% |
| 2021 | #4,257 | 33 | 0.0020% |
| 2020 | #5,349 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 2019 | #5,460 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 2018 | #9,259 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #10,832 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #16,664 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #14,804 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #13,299 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #16,975 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #12,465 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #17,552 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #16,890 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #15,387 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #11,961 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #12,610 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,253 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2024 | #3,099 | 39 | 0.0023% |
| 2023 | #2,440 | 55 | 0.0032% |
| 2022 | #2,326 | 61 | 0.0035% |
| 2021 | #2,826 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 2020 | #3,659 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 2019 | #4,238 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2018 | #4,491 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2017 | #8,950 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #9,803 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #7,127 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2014 | #7,131 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #12,521 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #11,231 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #9,894 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #9,424 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #6,147 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore More Lists with Name Bleu
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with B
Short Boy Names That Start with B
How the Name Bleu Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Bleu's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Bleu's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.