Colette
Meaning
victory of the people
Say it: koh-LET
The story
Colette is a French name, a short form of Nicolette that traces back to Nicholas and its meaning, victory of the people. It carries a distinctly Parisian elegance, sealed by its most famous bearer, the writer Colette, whose bold, sensuous novels, including Gigi, made her one of France's literary giants and its first woman given a state funeral. There is a quieter Colette too, the fifteenth-century French saint and reformer. So the name blends chic and substance, glamour and conviction. Short, refined and effortlessly French, Colette has climbed fast in the United States and reads as current as it has ever been, part of the love of vintage French names. Polished and a little daring, Colette hands a child a victory-rooted name worn by a fearless writer and a determined saint.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Colette peaked in the 2020s.
The Colette deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Colette truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Colette fits with your family’s names and surname.
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