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Baby names

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

French-English Baby Names

112 replies

Gallia2022 · 09/03/2022 10:52

Hello,

I'm starting this thread as my partner and I are expecting a child in 3 months and we are looking for French or "mixed" baby names (i.e. French names which can be easily pronounced and sound nice in English or names that are both French and English). My problem is that my partner is very picky! I have a list and would be interested to know what English-speaking people think of these names before I talk to him. I think some might be a bit too "out there" for his taste, but I would be however curious to know what people make of them. We don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl so we have to consider both:

Boys:
Remy
Pierre
Joseph
Auguste
Emile
Armand
Edgar
Mayeul

Girls:
Iris
Leonie
Beatrice
Octavie/Octavia
Adelaide
Blanche
Garance

Please let me know if you have other suggestions!

OP posts:
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Snowbell99 · 10/03/2022 23:17

I would normally use the accents. But it depends on whether you really want to pronounce them the French way or not. Otherwise don't use them.

Rémy - I like it a lot, it makes me think of the cute rat in the movie and I love that movie. Really nice name.

Pierre - this is out of fashion in France but not terribly dated. It's a classic, like Peter. It was crazy common in France in the past so not an exciting choice. I don't like it that much.

Joseph - I don't like this in any language, I find it bland and boring. Joe is kind of cute but I'd rather use Jonah. This won't really show French heritage as it is popular in so many countries.

Auguste - I don't like it in English and in French it sounds even worse, in my opinion. This is currently having a comeback in France so it is cool by French standards, I just don't like it.

Émile - I like it but in English speaking countries people might assume that this is a girls name because it looks similar to Emily.

Armand - not a fan of the sound.

Edgar - makes me think of the "Aristocats" guy, I think it sounds stuck up, sorry! I like Edmund and Edward.

Mayeul - I know that it is an old name but it looks trendy and made up. Endless pronunciation problems. I wouldn't mind because I love many Irish names but you might.

Favourites are Rémy and Émile but I''d pick Rémy it works well.

Iris - I am tired of it it seems like a name that will be super popular soon. It will be extremely hard to get people to say it the French way.

Léonie - it's fine but people will pronounce it the English way and I don't like that pronunciation.

Béatrice - nice but it will be hard to enforce the French pronunciation.

Octavie/Octavia - reminds me of an octopus. They are cool, but still...Octavia isn't particularly French and Octavie is just okay.

Adélaïde - will be extremely hard to enforce the French pronunciation. The name is okay.

Blanche - granny name but making a bit of a comeback. It is fine.

Garance - this is super old stylish in France. I find it harsh and difficult to say for English speakers.

I don't really like any of the girls names but they are all fine.

I wouldn't use a name like Béatrice in English speaking countries because people will always try to pronounce it the English way. It is harder to make people pronounce a name they know differently than choosing a new name. Same with Léonie etc. If you would pronounce them in English I wouldn't use the accents.

I love (but many of the French names I like are 80s/90s dated in France, I feel like these decades had the nicest names):

Élodie
Delphine
Amandine
Océane
Lucine
Léontine
Felicie
Camille

Maël

headintheproverbial · 10/03/2022 14:16

Juliette I think is pretty

Yika · 10/03/2022 11:28

No Adrien / Adrian isn’t an old man name to me, it’s possibly less on trend than Aidan which is very current, but it’s never been massively popular. The actor Adrien Brody is spelt the French way so it’s not unheard of.

HereBdragons · 10/03/2022 09:35

Does it matter if Adrien is mistaken for Adrian? It’s the same name? In English the pronunciation of both is identical. Your son might have to learn to say ´Adrien with an E’ when someone needs to write it down.

MimiDaisy11 · 10/03/2022 09:25

I like Manon in French and met a really cool French woman with that name so I have positive connotations to it. Unfortunately, I don't think it works in the UK. I think kids will see the words "man" and "on" and so wouldn't be good for bullying if she were a bit masculine.

Gallia2022 · 10/03/2022 08:43

@Taswama

Nina for a girl Cecile

Agree about avoiding Emile because of similarity to Emily.

Edward / Edouard?
David?
Marc / Mark

If you are living in the UK and planning to stay here I wouldn't worry about whether your son or daughter's name fits their generation. I'm half French and my name is not common in my age group in France but it doesn't matter in the least as it wasn't a 'mum / aunty' name growing up here.

Thanks, I don't really worry about how fashionable a name is but sometimes sound ridiculous in a language or another. I just want to avoid that. I like Edward/Edouard but we already know so many of them...
OP posts:
thnkingaboutoptions · 10/03/2022 08:43

Elodie is another French name I love but not so sure how well it works in English

I know a little Elodie, it's an easy name to pronounce.

Westfacing · 10/03/2022 08:41

Luc
Louis
Christien
Dominic

Giselle
Christiane
Dominique

Gallia2022 · 10/03/2022 08:40

@FayCarew

Victor
I wanted Victor for my first child and it was vetoed unfortunately. My partner said it would get shortened to Vic?
OP posts:
WhiteCatmas · 10/03/2022 08:39

I love Manon but I would see endless taunting of the poor girl. Please don’t do it.
Some lovely names here.

Gallia2022 · 10/03/2022 08:35

@Yika

Oh and Daphne
Thank you, it's a shame for Blanche, it sounds really lovely in French. I like Adrien and it was my grandfather's name, but people might mistake it for Adrian? Also is it not a very "old man's name" in English?
OP posts:
timeisnotaline · 10/03/2022 08:34

The Arnaud i know is a teen.
Florent
Quentin
Raphaelle
Charles
Henri
Isobel
Louise
Astrid

HereBdragons · 10/03/2022 08:30

I love Arthur too. Good choice there. I wanted Arthur for my youngest but DH wasn’t keen.

HereBdragons · 10/03/2022 08:28

Margot is nice!

Gallia2022 · 10/03/2022 08:26

@Lurking9to5

Love Julien qnd Leonie

What age group uses Arnaud in France. I like that but ive no French context, it could be like my French friend told me she liked Martin.

Arnaud is a name of my generation I would say. Not a bad name but I don't know anybody below 30 with that name and it's also my cousin's name. Martin sounds good in French actually, so does Simon but they don't seem very popular right now in the UK.
OP posts:
Gallia2022 · 10/03/2022 08:23

@HelebethH

Boys Andre Phillipe Anton Charles Sebastien Leo

Girls
Celeste
Melody
Antoinette
Helena
Marianne
Josephine
Vivienne
Astrid
Flora
Violet
Margot
Thea

Thank you I like Astrid and Josephine but my cousins have daughters with these names unfortunately. I've been thinking about Margot, it reminds me of my grandmother's name which was Marguerite and my husband's mother is called Margaret so that could work for us!
OP posts:
Lurking9to5 · 10/03/2022 07:33

Manon seems to be trendy but it doesnt work particularly well in English

JuneOsborne · 10/03/2022 07:28

Etienne and Manon. Glorious!

Lurking9to5 · 10/03/2022 07:22

Love Julien qnd Leonie

What age group uses Arnaud in France. I like that but ive no French context, it could be like my French friend told me she liked Martin.

MaryQueenOfSwots · 09/03/2022 23:39

Marc?

Luredbyapomegranate · 09/03/2022 23:36

I’m assuming you live in the Uk -

Boys:
Remy - only for a 55 year old
Pierre - it’s too HELLO I’M FRENCH
Joseph - nice
Auguste - ok, Augustus is nicer
Emile - no, too close to girls’ names like Emily
Armand - no, sounds like a nut or a liqueur
Edgar - nice
Mayeul - no, too complex

How about - Laurent, Alexander, Sebastian, Lucian, Raphael, Justin, Julian nn Jules, Christophe, Frederic, Louis, Leon, Theodore, Dominic, Lucas, Marc, Maxim

Girls:
Iris - nice
Leonie - nice
Beatrice nice
Octavie/Octavia - former wouldn’t work in Uk
Adelaide - nice
Blanche - ok
Garance - too complex

Otherwise - Elisabeth, Sophie, Eloise, Isabelle, Catherine, Lucienne, Claire, Clementine, Josephine, Charlotte, Jeanne, Cecile, Ines, Louise, Madeleine, Sylvie, Zoe. Also Breton names like Catrin and Manon

StrongerOrWeaker · 09/03/2022 23:04

Adeline ?

Houseplantmad · 09/03/2022 23:00

Augustine for a girl.

HereBdragons · 09/03/2022 22:58

I like Daphne and Nina. And Adrien and Oscar for a boys.

HereBdragons · 09/03/2022 22:57

I don’t like any of your choices.