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Original poster

French names

70 replies

Glitterbubbles · 28/09/2018 16:23

DP is French, we'd like our children's first names to be French but easily pronounced/spelled in UK (live in UK). Have a few names in mind already, does anyone have any male/female suggestions? Smile

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kettleonplease · 03/10/2018 11:51

Elodie, Amelie, Lucie, Fleur

Louis, Luan

bonbonours · 03/10/2018 11:46

Just on a quick google I am amazed to see that among the most popular French names at the moment are loads that seem 'English' to me. eg Liam, Nathan, Tom, Emma, Anna. Also 'Axel' is in the top 50!!!

LaDaronne · 03/10/2018 10:24

They were bang on trend though, Killian was a strong climber in 2000 and peaked in 2002.

bonbonours · 03/10/2018 07:23

Interesting to see which names are considered old fashioned or chavvy in France. I was au pair for a baby Killian back in 2000, his mum was quite posh!

I personally would choose a name without accents unless you don't mind people constantly missing them off. Also I echo the comments about how British people will not know how to pronounce French names except ones that are common here.

Ameliarose16 · 03/10/2018 07:22

I have a friend called Henri, pronounced Orrie. Everyone calls him Henry though st first- including me so that could be an issue

withsexypantsandasausagedog · 03/10/2018 07:16

omg though I LOVE Anouk! f

withsexypantsandasausagedog · 03/10/2018 07:15

Celeste
Fleur

LaDaronne · 03/10/2018 07:14

Marie-Sixtine is über posh.

Deltaquinn · 02/10/2018 23:17

Baptiste

Deltaquinn · 02/10/2018 23:13

Anouk, Perrine, Zoé, Meredith, Margaux, Émile, Clément, Alfred, Eleanor, Eglantine

Snappedandfarted2018 · 02/10/2018 21:42

For instance, will Adèle always have to be spelt Adele.

As someone who is called Adele I have never spelt my name like that.

What about Adelaide or Adeline? I have a Sophie although I associated more as a Greek name rather than French however many names are depends on how they said with a particular accent.

ravensmum · 02/10/2018 21:37

This is fascinating, what is Marie sixtine level?!

RedStef1983 · 30/09/2018 18:44

Odette

MamasGarden · 29/09/2018 21:54

I adore Pivoine. It's the French translation of Peony, a gorgeous flower. Pronounced "Piv-wan". Probably not as easy to pronounce in UK by looking at the spelling, though.

LaDaronne · 29/09/2018 18:25

Elodie isn't exactly Kilian, but it's not quite Marie-Sixtine level either.

Scatteredthoughtss · 29/09/2018 17:28

Babette is already a short form. It's like calling somebody Liz and then Lizzie (but why not).

Scatteredthoughtss · 29/09/2018 17:25

Cosmoa the OP has spelt the names correctly in French.

I agree with whoever said Céline and Cécile are in their 40s, or even more. There are SO many of those.
The French absolutely consider Arthur to be a French name, there is a famous TV personality called Arthur (who just goes by Arthur, though it's not his real name, I know several French Arthurs). I don't agree that Elodie is chavvy, though, it's far too run of the mill for that. It's hardly Killian. Claudia is not a French name, maybe the person who suggested that was thinking of Claudie, and of course Claude is a unisex name. I loathe unisex names I have to say, Dominique is the worst, there's just no way of knowing.

daisypond · 29/09/2018 15:24

I'm not sure how names have dated in France. I know French people in their 40s and 50s called Eloise, Sophie and Olivier, so they might have a middle-aged vibe in France.
Marianne - or is that impossible in France, being such a symbol?
Alice
I like both Fabien and Laurent for boys, but again, the ones I know are in their 40s/50s..

Agustarella · 29/09/2018 15:24

French inspired names I love are Claudia for a girl and Lucien for a boy x

Those are nice. Claudine as well.

Sebastien , Raphael, Maxime, Xavier, Charles, Edouard, Guillaume

Lol at the thought of the average Brit trying to pronounce Guillaume.

DreamsofJacaranda · 29/09/2018 15:20

Lucie, Louise, Marie, Florence, Julie, Celine, Alice

Sebastien , Raphael, Maxime, Xavier, Charles, Edouard, Guillaume

DaniC18 · 29/09/2018 15:06

French inspired names I love are Claudia for a girl and Lucien for a boy x

LeeMiller · 29/09/2018 11:55

Particularly love Loïc, Louis, Lucas, Maëlys, Camille and Anaïs

I like all of those except Lucas. I would imagine them being said in variety of British accents though and see if you still love them. Camille is likely to be said Cam-eel. People will get Anaïs wrong. I think they're so lovely it wouldn't put me off, but it's worth considering if needing to frequently correct spelling and pronunciation will annoy you. I would expect accents to get misplaced or dropped as they're a pain on British keyboards. I know a Zoë and it's almost always written Zoe.

LaDaronne · 29/09/2018 11:12

Slight arf at baby Francine and baby Valérie... Elodie is indeed a bit chavvy, and thirty years behind the times.

MongerTruffle · 29/09/2018 05:24

For instance, will Adèle always have to be spelt Adele?
You can use accents when you register the birth, but not all computer systems are designed for accept these (accents aren't printed on British passports).

Original poster
Glitterbubbles · 29/09/2018 04:21

Wow I wasn't expecting this many replies, thanks for all the suggestions! Particularly love Loïc, Louis, Lucas, Maëlys, Camille and Anaïs :)

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