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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Thibault

108 replies

Diggersandloaders · 22/10/2021 06:39

I am part French but live in the UK, as will our child. Does this name work in English (pronounced tee bow)? I guess a nn would probably be Thib or Bo or something, though we would let that naturally evolve.

The main alternative currently is Felix, though I have a real soft spot for Ludovic.

Please help!!

OP posts:
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Sleepinghyena · 25/10/2021 08:14

Would also have thought Tybalt.
I have a name which i have spent my lifetime spelling (and to a lesser extent pronouncing) to people.
I deliberately chose more recognisable/easy to spell names for my DC as a result of my own experiences.
I would choose Ludovic.

monsterflake · 25/10/2021 08:07

I loved the name once you explained how to pronounce it, I wouldn't of had a clue otherwise. It's possible I'm just an idiot though!

Snugglemuffin · 25/10/2021 08:05

@lljkk Aoife is pronounced ee-fa

NessieMcNessface · 25/10/2021 04:30

Thibault is a great name and I love it especially as it reflects your son’s heritage. I would absolutely go for it in spite of the fact that yes, your son will have to spell it out for people when he first meets them. ‘Tib’ or ‘Tee’ are great abbreviations too. Follow your heart and go for it!

WeAreTheHeroes · 25/10/2021 04:27

@midsomermurderess - I think you are thinking of the character Tintin in Spiral? I can't recall a Titi.

I think it's a great name OP and people will learn how to pronounce it before they learn to spell it. There are plenty of more commonplace names lots of people struggle to spell so I wouldn't let that put me off.

MerryMarigold · 25/10/2021 04:26

With names like this you have to consider secondary school where your child will have multiple teachers and cover teachers. It's going to be pronounced wrong for years. I was reading it as an unusual spelling of Shakespeare's Tybalt and I imagine people will turn to that mostly if you're lucky!

alexdgr8 · 25/10/2021 04:09

no. no. no.
surely you can find a name that works in both languages ?
having to spell and explain one's name on nearly every new meeting is tedious in the extreme.

lljkk · 25/10/2021 03:59

Is Aoife pronounced like Eve?

I like the cyclist but would be reluctant to choose a name that required so much work by the bearer. I don't like Ludovic or Felix. There must be lots of other nice men's French names.

Would OP say Thib as Tee or what?

ducksalive · 25/10/2021 03:27

I would massacre this name first time round, having only Spanish and English.
But I would learn and not do it twice.

vastgrandupgrade · 25/10/2021 03:23

I also knew because of Thibaut Pinot. He doesn’t have the ‘l’ in it I think?

Do you need the ‘l’? Without it, it definitely looks French to me, so I think I would automatically go for something at least approximating the correct pronunciation.

TuftyMarmoset · 25/10/2021 03:14

I like it. I know someone whose last name is Thibault but no one with it as their first name. I agree it will be pronounced Tybalt though.
I prefer Felix to Thibault but don’t like Ludovic.

DifficultBloodyWoman · 25/10/2021 03:00

I consider it an uncommon classic rather than dated.

But I have been out of the country for a while so I would defer to the opinions of others.

TatianaBis · 24/10/2021 20:33

@Diggersandloaders

A question for anyone french/with links to France. Would you say Thibault is dated? Thanks 😊
I don’t live there, but I don’t think so - it’s not common enough to date and it’s more of a classic because it’s such an old name.

I absolutely love it btw.

In the U.K. I’d probably go for Tybalt to avoid all thigh bolt nonsense.

Original poster
Diggersandloaders · 24/10/2021 19:42

A question for anyone french/with links to France. Would you say Thibault is dated? Thanks 😊

OP posts:
nicecheesegromit · 22/10/2021 22:13

I've worked with a Thibault, he was lovely! No-one at work had problems pronouncing or spelling the name. It's a very cool name

LactoseTheIntolerant · 22/10/2021 21:38

I've never heard it before but I love it, I really think if it's your first choice you should go for it. Just make sure teachers etc are fully briefed before the beginning of first term on how to pronounce it and it'll be fine.

RainingYetAgain · 22/10/2021 21:23

I've only known Thibault as a surname in the UK.

KatieKoala · 22/10/2021 21:20

I like it. Makes me think of the weirdly attractive actor who play Matteus in Dix Pour Cent!

Felix is lovely too and works in a few languages. So depends what your priorities are.

Timeforachange22 · 22/10/2021 21:17

I know someone with this name and when English people hear the name being said for the first time they often think someone is referring to him as T-bone. Like a nickname. It happens all the time.

Bodule · 22/10/2021 21:13

All fantastic names, OP.

PumpkinCrumble · 22/10/2021 21:11

I like Ludovic.

thewhatsit · 22/10/2021 21:01

I also thought of Romeo and Juliet, but there are worse things!

It’s a lovely name. I probably would have pronounced wrongly (although now I look twice at the name I feel like I should have known how pronounce it) only because my brain started with the similar name in R&J. It’s not a difficult pronunciation and I wouldn’t have got it wrong a second time.

However… Ludovic wins for me. It’s a brilliant name. I knew a French Ludo and always thought how great his name was although sadly, he wasn’t as cool and his name.

MerryChristmasToYou · 22/10/2021 16:11

sound not spelling.

MerryChristmasToYou · 22/10/2021 16:10

I don't know why they did it. It seems so weird that someone would call someone by the wrong name or what they think is how to say it.

I've thought of another one - same person as the Laoise example. if you referred to Anthony, she would correct you and say Anthony with a th. If you said, but he says it as Ant, she would say he was spelling his name wrongly and that only Antony gave that spelling.

Her kids had yooneek names

MerryChristmasToYou · 22/10/2021 16:03

@Blubells, @Clandestin, I used to work with a Théo (Tayo), and there were a few who insisted on calling him Theo, also one called Laoise who some kept calling Louise

(I've used different names as the actual names might be outing)