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Baby names

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

Original poster

Help French boys name!

188 replies

wildswimmer20 · 09/05/2023 17:22

Pregnant with no. 2, hubbie is French but we live in the UK. 1st child has an unusual Celtic name and this time would like to choose a French name but struggling! Needs to be fairly easy to say/spell in both languages. Wouldn’t probably go for a very traditional French name.

Top choice at the moment is Artus, like the nicknames Art and Artie. Would be pronounced quite differently in French and English, does it sound ok in English?

Other options -
Léon
Sylvain
Mathis / Matisse
Malo

Open to suggestion!

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FayCarew · 09/05/2023 20:41

oops, 2 Frederics
Alain
Antoine
Maximilian

FayCarew · 09/05/2023 20:38

Charles
Louis
Frederic
Pierre
Francois (Franc)
Frederic (Fred)

GoldenFarfalle · 09/05/2023 18:42

xavier
olivier

bravotango · 09/05/2023 18:41

We liked
Florian
Frederic
Leo
Georges

Went for Fred in the end.

JimJamJo · 09/05/2023 18:30

I like Artus and Leon.

Also
Gabriel
Emil
Louis
Fabien
And another vote for Etienne!

InvincibleInvisibility · 09/05/2023 18:25

Jacques is spelt with an S for example....

InvincibleInvisibility · 09/05/2023 18:24

Do think about how the name is spelt though. A lifetime of spelling out your name is a fucking pain.

We chose names which are spelt the same in French and English although this will remove the "French feel" to the name.

SourDoughToast · 09/05/2023 18:24

Another vote for Loïc - gorgeous name.

Also like-

Vincent
Emil
Maxime
Clemént
Victor

checktoolate · 09/05/2023 18:21

@gingergiraffe
Matthieu ?
Mathias ?

@Roseau18
I know 2 male Camilles under 10 and quite a few adult ones - maybe it's just Parisian bobos though...

snakeface · 09/05/2023 18:17

What about Jack/Jacque? Fits both languages
I also love Marius

devildeepbluesea · 09/05/2023 18:14

I like Thibaud too but also:
Emmanuel (nn Manu)
Bruno
Jérome
Gael

watchingthesnowfall · 09/05/2023 18:13

Benoît

lazarusb · 09/05/2023 18:11

We have a Leon 🙂

My French great grandfather and his brother were called Marius and Erneste. I love them both.

CordylineHair · 09/05/2023 18:07

Its been mentioned a few times already but: Loïc. Pronounced Low ick I think.

gingergiraffe · 09/05/2023 18:05

I love Matteaus but not sure how you spell it in French.

ThisIsTheGreatestShow · 09/05/2023 18:04

Thibaud
Antoine
Yann
Stephane
Olivier
Luc

Roseau18 · 09/05/2023 18:04

Roselilly36 · 09/05/2023 17:43

Only Remys I have known are female.

Remy is very much à male name in France.
Camille (which someone else suggested) can be either but is now rarely used for boys.

RoseRobot · 09/05/2023 17:56

Sylvain is stunning!

InvincibleInvisibility · 09/05/2023 17:55

Léopold
Théo

InvincibleInvisibility · 09/05/2023 17:55

Louis
Jules
Baptiste
Jerome
Loann
Joseph
Alexandre
Dominique
Sebastien
Benjamin
Thomas
Melchior
Aurèle
Jean
Nicolas

checktoolate · 09/05/2023 17:51

Augustin
Aloys
Antonin
Aurèle
Alphonse ?

Xiaoxiong · 09/05/2023 17:48

Loic
Maxence
Amaury
Lucien
Pirran
Brieuc

Interestingly I was talking to my French SIL who said that the number of French named footballers in the UK has massively increased the general acceptance/pronunciation accuracy of many French names here! She gave the name Didier as the example, she said when she was a kid people would have said it "diddy-er" but she was impressed everyone now says it correctly thanks to Didier Drogba.

JustanothermagicMonday1 · 09/05/2023 17:48

Lucien, Jules, Bastien

checktoolate · 09/05/2023 17:48

Théo
Sylvestre
Virgile
Loïc
Blaise
Guillaume
Renaud
Didier
Basile
Gaëtan
Camille
Jules
Arthur
Maël
Elias
Romain
Hippolyte
Abel
Quentin
Oscar

Namechange224422 · 09/05/2023 17:45

Samuel is nice and works well in both languages, as does Julian. Pp has already suggested Sebastian which I like too, and Tristan is popular among French/English families