Young Dark Blonde Girl With French Braid Shows Off Her Earrings, Navel Piercing And Pubic Hair Landing Strip With Building Material And Bricks Near The Forest

It is unclear when the hairstyle originated, or how it became associated with France in the English-speaking world; in the French language, the same hairstyle is called tresse africaine ("African braid") or tresse indienne ("Indian braid").
The phrase "French braid" appears in an 1871 issue of Arthur's Home Magazine, used in a piece of short fiction that describes it as a new hairstyle ("...do up your hair in that new French braid..."). However, no visual illustrations are provided for that context, making it impossible to tell whether it refers to the same hairstyle.