Dub Name Change/English to French


 * Atom Ant to Atomas, La Fourmi Atomique


 * Batman
 * The Riddler to Le Sphinx (French-Canada) and L'Homme-Mystère (France)
 * Two-Face is either Deux-Face, Double-Face ou Pile-ou-Face, depending on your era/location
 * Poison Ivy to L'empoisoneuse. In some more recent materials, the English name is retained.
 * Bane to Calamité, Batman and Robin (the movie) only.
 * In some early translations, Joker to Rigolard.
 * Clayface to Gueule d'argile, sometimes


 * Batman Beyond to Batman: La Relève
 * Big Time to Mégalo
 * Shriek to Stridor
 * Payback to Laserman


 * Cars:
 * Lightning McQueen to Flash McQueen
 * Mater to Martin (France only; in Quebec the movies are dubbed locally while the Cars Toons are dubbed in France, so the French on the back of Canadian Cars Toons DVD cases refers to him as "Mater alias Martin")


 * Danger Mouse to Dare Dare Motus


 * Discworld to Le Disque-monde
 * Rincewind to Rincevent
 * Twoflower to Deuxfleurs
 * Granny Weatherwax to Mémé Ciredutemps
 * And therefore, logically, Lilith de Tempscire to Lilith Weatherwax
 * Nanny Ogg to Nounou Ogg
 * Magrat Garlick to Magrat Goussedail
 * Agnes Nitt to Agnès Crétine
 * Vimes to Vimaire
 * "Nobby" Nobbs to "Chicard" Chique
 * Philosopher Didactylos to Honorbrachios in Small Gods, then back to Didactylos when quoted in Hogfather


 * Disney
 * Goofy to Dingo
 * Chip and Dale to Tic et Tac
 * Scrooge McDuck to Balthazar Picsou
 * Huey, Dewey and Louie to Riri, Fifi and Loulou
 * Duckburg to Donaldville(Donald Town) in the Disney Ducks Comic Universe and Canardville (Duck Town) in DuckTales (1987)
 * Gladstone Gander to Gontran Bonheur


 * Harry Potter
 * Draco Malfoy to Drago Malefoy
 * Severus Snape to Severus Rogue
 * Tom Marvolo Riddle to Tom Elvis Jedusor (to work with the bit where he spells out "I am Lord Voldemort", which became "Je Suis Voldemort"). Works doubly well because "jedusor" is phonetically French for "game of fate"—i.e., a puzzle or riddle.
 * Marvolo Gaunt to Elvis Marvolo Gaunt to justify Tom's name
 * Hogwarts to Poudlard
 * Moaning Murtle to Mimi Geignarde (Whiny Mimi)
 * Oliver Wood to Olivier Dubois
 * Argus Filch to Argus Rusard
 * Madam Hooch to Madame Bibine
 * Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs to Lunard, Queudver, Padmol, and Cornedrue
 * Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw to Gryffondor, Serpentard, Poufsouffle, and Serdaigle
 * The founders all keep their original first names, averting the Alliterative Name for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
 * Oddly, Fleur Delacour is still Fleur Delacour and Beauxbatons is still Beauxbatons, probably because it would be hard to Keep It Foreign (Hogwarts was still in Scotland and Beauxbatons still in France, remember).


 * The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to Le Guide Galactique or Le Guide du Voyageur Galactique
 * Arthur Dent to Arthur Accroc
 * Ford Prefect to Ford Escort
 * A case of Woolseyism: the namesake car was out of production by the time the translation was published, so they substituted its replacement.
 * Zaphod Beeblebrox to Zappy Bibicy (BBC, get it?)
 * Slartibartfast to Saloprilopette
 * All of the above were restored to their English names in the 2005 re-release of the novel.


 * Inspector Gadget:
 * Penny to Sophie
 * Brain to Fino
 * Dr. Claw to Dr. Gang
 * Quimby to Gontier
 * MAD is still MAD, but Penny's derogatory expansion of it is "Méchants Abrutis Débiles" (something like "Meanies Airheads Dimwits")


 * Kim Possible
 * Mr. Barkin to M. Barry (plays on barrir "to trumpet like an elephant")
 * DNAmy to Din Amyte (first season) to Amy Nancenoire (éminence noire "black eminence")
 * Gil/Gill to Sacha/Poisson Chat ("catfish")
 * Ron Stoppable to Robin Trépide (plays on intrépide)
 * Shego to Tchigo
 * the tweebs to les grumeaux (grumeaux "little lumps" + jumeaux "twins", also used in Rugrats)
 * Wade to Wallace


 * Kirby:
 * King Dedede to Roi Dadidou


 * The Lord of the Rings to Le Seigneur des Anneaux
 * Bilbo Baggins to Bilbon Sacquet
 * Frodo Baggins to Frodon Sacquet, both of which allow for
 * Bag End to Cul-de-Sac ('Dead End')
 * Samwise Gamgee to Samsagace Gamegie
 * Meriadoc Brandybuck to Meriadoc Brandebouc
 * Strider to Grands-Pas (literally 'Big Steps')
 * The Shire to La Comté ('The County')
 * Treebeard to Sylvebarbe


 * Marvel Comics
 * Ant Man to L'Homme-Fourmi
 * The Beast to le Fauve
 * Black Cat to la Chatte Noire (the Black She-Cat)
 * Black Widow to la Veuve Noire
 * Cloak and Dagger to la Cape et l'Epée (Cape and Sword)
 * The Daily Bugle to le Quotidien
 * The Defenders to les Défenseurs
 * Demogoblin to le Bouffon Noir (the Black Clown or Buffoon)
 * Destiny to Destinée
 * Doctor Doom to Docteur Fatalis
 * The Fantastic Four to les Quatre Fantastiques
 * The Green Goblin to le Bouffon Vert (the Green Clown or Buffoon)
 * The Grey Gargoyle to la Gargouille Grise
 * Hawkeye to Oeil-de-Faucon
 * Hobgoblin to Super-Bouffon (Super-Clown or Super-Buffoon)
 * Iceman to Iceberg
 * The Invaders to les Envahisseurs
 * Juggernaut to le Fléau (the Scourge or Flail)
 * Nightcrawler to Diablo
 * Quicksilver to Vif-Argent
 * Red Guardian (male and female) to Gardien/Gardienne Rouge
 * Rogue to Malicia
 * The Runaways to les Fugitifs
 * Sabretooth to Dents-de-Sabre
 * Sandman to l'Homme-Sable
 * Scarlet Witch to la Sorcière Rouge
 * She-Hulk to Miss Hulk (in earlier translations)
 * Storm to Tornade
 * Susan Storm to Jane Storm
 * The Thing to la Chose
 * The Wasp to la Guêpe
 * Wolverine to Serval (in early translations)


 * My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
 * Nightmare Moon to Séléniak


 * Powerpuff Girls to Les Supernanas (The Superchicks)
 * Blossom to Belle (Beauty)
 * Bubbles to Bulle (literal translation)
 * Buttercup to Rebelle (guess)


 * Revenge of the Island:
 * Dawn to Aurore
 * Lightning to Perceval


 * Shrek
 * Donkey is always referred to as "l'Ane" (The Donkey), for some reason.
 * Puss in Boots to "Le Chat Potté" (modified from "Le Chat Botté" to explain the "P" he carves on the tree; however, it literally means "The Potted Cat" or "The Lucky cat" (from the French expression "avoir du pôt" meaning "being lucky" rather than "Puss in Boots").


 * SpongeBob SquarePants to Bob L'éponge
 * Squidward Tentacles to Carlo le Calmar (Carlo Tentacules in French-Canada)
 * Mr. Krabs to Capitaine Krabs


 * Star Wars: Although practically every single character received a name change in the French versions of the original Star Wars movies (allegedly due to an insane fixation on the dubbers' part of avoiding Lip Lock, which also resulted in some rather... odd... dialogue changes including some strong language!), most of these name changes were reverted for the prequels and/or the EU; some were also reversed for the Special Edition.
 * The franchise itself was originally known as La guerre des étoiles (a literal translation) and is still occasionally referred to as such by French-speakers, though now the original title is more widely used. However, the translated title is also occasionally used to refer to A New Hope (Star Wars épisode IV: La guerre des étoiles)
 * Darth Vader to Dark Vador (One of the few characters to permanently retain his French name change, at least in Europe; the English name is now used in Quebec)
 * Darth (in general) to Dark ("Dark Maul", etc.) Even extends to parodies (see Tripping the Rift below).
 * Han Solo to Yan Solo (the French translations of the Star Wars Expanded Universe inconsistently use both "Han" and "Yan")
 * Chewbacca to Chiktabba (Somehow, they believed that the original name had something to do with "chew tobacco", don' ask.)
 * C-3PO to Z-6PO
 * R2-D2 to D2-R2
 * Galen Marek to Jacob Nion (actually an English name that was ultimately scrapped)
 * Jabba the Hutt to Jabba le Forrestier ("Forrestier" means "forest-dweller".)
 * Millennium Falcon to Millénium Condor (changed to "Faucon Millénium" in the EU and "Faucon Millénaire" in French-Canada)
 * Death Star to Etoile Noire ("Black Star"; no not that one!; reverted in Special Edition)


 * Teen Titans
 * Slade to Deathstroke (his actual supervillain name in the comics, changed in the adaptation to avoid saying "death")
 * Beast Boy to Changeling (again, a name he used in the comics)
 * Johnny Rancid to Johnny Perfide ("Insidious", presumably the translator didn't know about the punk band)


 * Thomas the Tank Engine And Friends to Thomas Le Petit Train/Thomas Et Ses Amis
 * Peter Sam to Pierre-Jean
 * Harold to Herbert
 * Sodor to Shicolor


 * Total Drama Island
 * Chris Maclean to Louis Mercier
 * Chef Hatchet to Chef Albert
 * Blaineley to Melanie (Quebec) or Berangere (France). Her first name, Mildred, becomes Pauline.
 * Josh to Charles
 * Alessandro to Alerrandro
 * Courtney to Audrey
 * Beth to Berthe
 * Izzy to Edith
 * Owen to Gontran
 * Duncan to Hugo
 * Geoff to J.F.
 * Gwen to Joelle
 * Cody to Jordy
 * Katie and Sadie to Katrine and Sandrine, respectively
 * Trent to Loic
 * Noah to Lucas
 * Heather to Marilou
 * Sierra to Sarah-Laurie
 * Tyler to Simon
 * Lindsay to Tania


 * Toy Story to Histoire de Jouets (Quebec only)
 * Buzz Lightyear to Buzz l'Eclair (France only. Yes, one region changes the series name only while the other region changes the character name only.)


 * Transformers: Only for French-Canadian versions of Transformers Generation 1 and Beast Wars (itself renamed to "Robo-Bêtes" in French Canada and "Animutants" in France).
 * Optimus Prime to Optimus Primus
 * Bumblebee to Bourdon
 * Ironhide to Rhino
 * Starscream to Ego (used in English as the name of a Transtech character)
 * Soundwave to both Sonore and Radar
 * Frenzy to Frénétik
 * Waspinator to Bizznator


 * Tripping the Rift to Les décalés du cosmos
 * Captain Chode to Ardillon
 * Darph Bobo to Dark Bobo (see Star Wars above)


 * The Wild Thornberrys to La Famille Delajungle
 * Donnie to Denis


 * Winnie the Pooh to Winnie L'ourson
 * Eeyore to Bourriquet
 * Owl to Maître Hibou
 * Rabbit to Coco Lapin
 * Kanga to Grand Gourou
 * Roo to Petit Gourou
 * Piglet to Porcinet
 * Tigger to Tigrou
 * Heffalump to Efelant


 * The Worst Witch to Amandine Malabul
 * Mildred Hubble to Amandine Malabul
 * Maud Moonshine to Maud Mouchete (television series)/Paméla (book)
 * Enid Nightshade to Enid Datura (television series)/Isabelle Tromplamor (book)
 * Ethel to Edith Aigreur (television series)/Octavie Pâtafiel (book)
 * Drusilla Paddock to Drusilla Pagaille
 * Ruby Cherrytree to Rubie Cerisier
 * Griselda Blackwood to Griselda Bravoure (television series)/Grisoline de Noirlac (book)
 * Fenella Feverfew to Fenella Folavoine
 * Sybil Hallow to Sybille Aigreur (television series)/Nathalène Pâtafiel (book)
 * Miss Gimlet to Mademoiselle Lorgnette
 * Frank Blossom to Frank Massue
 * Miss Cackle to Mademoiselle Caquet (television series)/Mademoiselle Jollidodue (book)
 * Miss Hardbroom to Mademoiselle Arebours (television series)/Mademoiselle Bâtonsec (book)
 * Miss Bat to Davina Bcasse (television series)/Mademoiselle Chauveroussie (book)
 * Miss Drill to Mademoiselle Vrille (television series)/Mademoiselle Dumollet (book)