Yves ( ) is a common French male given name of uncertain origin, either from Celtic as in the Gaulish name Ivo (Iuo) and compound names Ivorix (Iuo-rigi or Iue-ricci) and Ivomagus (Iuo-magi), all derived from the Gaulish term for yew, iuos or īuos, or from Germanic, derived from Proto-Germanic *īwaz, *īhwaz (compare Icelandic ýr), masculine variant of *īwō (compare Dutch ijf, German Eibe), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyHweh₂, meaning yew. Related names include Erwan[n] (though another etymology has been suggested), Evette, Ives, Ivet, Iveta, Ivette, Ivo, Iwo, Yve, Yvette (the feminine form of Yves), Yvo, Yvon, Yvonne, and many other diminutives (mainly from Brittany).
People with the given name
Actors
Yves Afonso (1944–2018), French actor
Yves Barsacq (1931–2015), French film actor
Yves Beneyton (born 1946), French actor
Yves Brainville (1914–1993), French film and television actor
Yves Jacques (born 1956), Canadian film, television and stage actor
Yves Montand (1921–1991), Italian-French singer and actor
Yves Pignot (born 1946), French actor
Yves Verhoeven (born 1961), French actor
Yves Vincent (1921–2016), French film and television actor
Artists
Yves Béhar (born 1967), Swiss designer, entrepreneur and an educator
Pierre-Yves Pelletier, Canadian graphic designer
Yves Chaland (1957–1990), French cartoonist and writer
Yves Klein (1928–1962), French artist
Yves Netzhammer (born 1970), Swiss artist
Yves Rodier (born 1967), Canadian cartoonist
Yves Saint Laurent (1936–2008), French fashion designer, namesake of the fashion brand. Yves Tanguy (1900–1955), French surrealist painter Yves Trudeau (artist) (1930–2017), Canadian sculptor and artist
Athletes
Pierre-Yves André (born 1974), French soccer-player
Yves Allegro (born 1978), Swiss tennis player
Yves Archambault (born 1952), Canadian ice hockey player
Yves Beaudoin (born 1965), Canadian ice hockey player
Yves Bélanger (ice hockey) (born 1952), Canadian ice hockey player
Yves Bissouma (born 1996), Malian soccer-player
Yves Colleu (born 1961), French soccer-player
Yves Deroff (born 1978), French soccer-player
Yves Dignadice, Filipino basketball player
Yves Dreyfus (1931–2021), French Olympic medalist épée fencer
Yves du Manoir (1904–1928), French rugby player
Yves Edwards (born 1976), Bahamian mixed martial arts fighter
Yves Giraud-Cabantous (1904–1973), French racing driver
Yves Herbet (born 1945), French soccer-player and manager
Yves Lampaert (born 1991), Belgian cyclist
Yves Ma-Kalambay (born 1986), Belgian soccer-player
Yves Mankel (born 1970), German luger
Yves Parlier (born 1960), French sailor
Yves Racine (born 1969), Canadian ice hockey player
Yves Saint-Martin (born 1941), French jockey
Yves Sarault (born 1972), Canadian ice hockey player
Yves Tavernier (born 1962), French alpine skier
Yves Triantafyllos, French-Greek soccer-player
Yves Vanderhaeghe (born 1970), Belgian soccer-player
Business people
Yves Béhar (born 1967), Swiss designer, entrepreneur, and educator
Yves Fortier (born 1935), Canadian lawyer, diplomat, and businessman
Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft
Yves Lamoureux, software entrepreneur
Yves Rocher (1930–2009), French cosmetics entrepreneur
Directors
Yves Allégret (1907–1987), French film director
Yves Caumon (born 1964), French film director
Yves Ciampi (1921–1982), French film director
Yves Lavandier (born 1959), French film director
Yves Pelletier (born 1961), Canadian director, actor, and comedian
Yves Robert (1920–2002), French director, actor, screenwriter, and producer
Yves Simoneau (born 1955), Canadian television director
Economists
Yves Balasko (born 1945), French economist
Yves Guyot (1843–1928), French economist and politician
Lawyers
St. Yves or Ivo of Chartres (1040–1114), French canon lawyer
St. Yves or Ivo of Kermartin (1253–1303), Breton lawyer and priest, patron saint of lawyers Yves Bot (1947–2019), French magistrate Yves Lainé (born 1937), French lawyer and politician Yves Pratte (1925–1988), Canadian lawyer and jurist