Please or to access all these features

Baby names

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

Laurent?

93 replies

atthebottomofthehill · 19/07/2023 00:09

Can't use Laurence as it clashes with surname but love the name. Is Laurent an option?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 19/07/2023 17:22

Geraint like Laurent? Er, they both end in the same two letters and have 2 syllables, but they're not from the same language

Yes, that's exactly why I said the closest British name I could think of - granted it's not that close, mind.

Welsh is a British language (the oldest one, I believe); whereas French is not commonly considered a British language.

MaggieFS · 19/07/2023 17:00

I agree, not unless you are French.

What about Lawrie?

Akiddleetivy2woodenchu · 19/07/2023 16:49

She says she’s aFrench speaker, not that she’s French. This could mean anything from scraped GCSE to fluent/bilingual. But that’s not how you pronounce Laurent.

PickledScrump · 19/07/2023 16:49

My initial thought is you’re a twilight fan. I think it’s one of those names that would never quite get pronounced properly

FayCarew · 19/07/2023 16:45

No we wont @crostini , because we now know how to say it properly in French.
Lau (rhyme with now) uan (with a gutteral) like - Laow-uan

crostini · 19/07/2023 16:24

Well no, because it only sounds correct when said in a French accent and you sound like a right dick.

MrsTerryPratchett · 19/07/2023 15:56

Careful - you'll be told off for telling a French person how to speak French

Grin

If a scouser my name it would be English. But different.

FayCarew · 19/07/2023 15:53

Has nobody come along to say that Laurence is a girl's name anyway?

sevenbyseven · 19/07/2023 15:03

MrsTerryPratchett · 19/07/2023 14:50

Like Now not Loh? I've been pronouncing it wrong then. Me and the whole internet.

Careful - you'll be told off for telling a French person how to speak French Wink

MrsTerryPratchett · 19/07/2023 14:50

HeadacheEarthquake · 19/07/2023 08:52

French speakers (me, his family, some of our friends)

Lau (rhyme with now) uan (with a gutteral) like - Laow-uan

English - Laurr-ON with a mostly silent T. Stress on the second syllable

Like Now not Loh? I've been pronouncing it wrong then. Me and the whole internet.

newrubylane · 19/07/2023 10:16

What about just using Laurie?

FayCarew · 19/07/2023 10:08

@ChocChipHandbag , the
Lau (rhyme with now) uan (with a gutteral) like - Laow-uan seems weird.
Maybe that's how it's said in a certain region or something.

sevenbyseven · 19/07/2023 09:48

ChocChipHandbag · 19/07/2023 09:45

Have you just told a French person how to speak French?

I missed the bit where she said she was French sorry 🙂

The first syllable of Laurent definitely doesn't rhyme with "now" though. And yes I speak French and know more than one French Laurent.

ChocChipHandbag · 19/07/2023 09:45

sevenbyseven · 19/07/2023 09:41

That's really not how French people pronounce Laurent.

Have you just told a French person how to speak French?

sevenbyseven · 19/07/2023 09:41

HeadacheEarthquake · 19/07/2023 08:52

French speakers (me, his family, some of our friends)

Lau (rhyme with now) uan (with a gutteral) like - Laow-uan

English - Laurr-ON with a mostly silent T. Stress on the second syllable

That's really not how French people pronounce Laurent.

Fourlegsandatail · 19/07/2023 09:39

Unless you are French I don’t think you can use this name. I have some distant Italian blood but not enough to make me call my kid Giuseppe.

FayCarew · 19/07/2023 09:36

@HeadacheEarthquake , oh! I thought people would say it like Lorrent to rhyme with torrent.

Geraint like Laurent? Er, they both end in the same two letters and have 2 syllables, but they're not from the same language Hmm

narrichi · 19/07/2023 09:19

I think it's okay, but I do think you will get a lot of people pronouncing it like Lauren with a T.

@HeadacheEarthquake are you a native French speaker? The French speakers I know would pronounce Laurent with an audible gutteral R, and the first vowel sounding more like "low" than "now", though maybe there are accent differences.

HeadacheEarthquake · 19/07/2023 08:52

French speakers (me, his family, some of our friends)

Lau (rhyme with now) uan (with a gutteral) like - Laow-uan

English - Laurr-ON with a mostly silent T. Stress on the second syllable

FayCarew · 19/07/2023 08:18

@HeadacheEarthquake , did they say Lorrent or Laure-ohn (my attemptat a french accent)?

HeadacheEarthquake · 19/07/2023 08:16

I knew a Laurent, nobody had a problem pronouncing it, ever.

sawnotseen · 19/07/2023 08:16

My friend has a Loren pronounced Lor-en, as in Sofia Loren but it's always being mispronounced as Lauren. He's 20 now and goes by Lol !

MrsMoastyToasty · 19/07/2023 08:09

I have a relative called Lawrence, but everyone calls him Lance. Would that work for you?

SirChenjins · 19/07/2023 07:56

What’s your French background? If one or both parents are french then you could get away with it - if one of your grandparents or great grandparents were then not so much.

I agree that the pronunciation would be problematic and the link YSL is a bit off putting