Page 3 | English/French baby names (living in France)

Neelym11 · 2024-03-30T16:25:50+00:00

Looking for some ideas, feedback and inspiration please! My husband and I are really struggling to agree on a name which works in both English and French. I’m British, he’s French and we’ll be moving permanently to France in a couple of months. Our son is Arthur which works perfectly in the UK and in France and I don’t mind the difference in pronunciation. Any suggestions / feedback on the below names would be greatly appreciated. - Charlotte (husbands favourite but super popular?) - Sylvie (my favourite but apparently very old fashioned in France) - Margot - Sophie - Florence - Louis (husband’s favourite after his grandfather.. but again very poplar?) - Valentin (my favourite, difficult for English to pronounce?) - Théo - Rémy - Raphaël * our surname begins with M if that makes a difference! X

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SpicyFakafel · 30/03/2024 21:45

Maelys. So pretty I think.

And Etienne.

LAvortonDeLaLitière · 30/03/2024 21:42

I live in France and these are some of the names of my colleagues' children.
Renee, Pauline, Susie, Raphael, Thomas, Olivia, James, Hannah, Anais, Mila, Jeremy, Jonathan, Leo.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:41

Just realised we are completely derailing the thread! Sorry OP!

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:38

noooooooo · 30/03/2024 20:57

Would some of the French posters be kind enough to share names that would be seen as the equivalents of 80s faves Darren and Sharon in France? It’s interesting because to an ignorant Francophile like me they all sound terribly glamorous 😂

I wouldn't call these Darren/Sharon names, but I think girls' names ending in "ie" have quite an 80s vibe.

I think Amélie, Émilie, Aurélie and Elodie are probably the French equivalents of Sarah, Rachel, Claire and Nicola.

Brexile · 30/03/2024 21:30

noooooooo · 30/03/2024 20:57

Would some of the French posters be kind enough to share names that would be seen as the equivalents of 80s faves Darren and Sharon in France? It’s interesting because to an ignorant Francophile like me they all sound terribly glamorous 😂

I'm not 100% sure, but Cindy and Sandrine seem like quite Sharon-ish names. Boys' names were quite conservative back in the day, which is why the Kevin craze in the 90s caused so much outrage and/or merriment. Probably the most Darren-ish names of middle-aged men are the yoonique spellings like Mickaël and Yoann.

CreateYourOwnUsername · 30/03/2024 21:30

NameChange30 · 30/03/2024 21:05

We like Anaïs but ruled it out because... can you imagine the average English-speaker trying to pronounce it?!

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YY, I have met more than one "Anais", pronounced ann-ay

Beasmum4 · 30/03/2024 21:30

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:18

Sylvie was probably born in the early 60s and might have had an English pen pal called Janet.

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Haha Janet was literally the name I used above to exemplify what French names ending in ette are a bit like in France.

IsThePopeCatholic · 30/03/2024 21:23

Augustin, baptiste, Solene, Alizée, apolline

Mielbee · 30/03/2024 21:21

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:18

Sylvie was probably born in the early 60s and might have had an English pen pal called Janet.

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🤣 OK I see now. What a shame as I think it's a beautiful name! Maybe best used by Brits in blissful ignorance then.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:18

Mielbee · 30/03/2024 21:14

Sylvie and Rémy! Though I'm not French so can't comment on how old‐fashioned Sylvie is.

Sylvie was probably born in the early 60s and might have had an English pen pal called Janet.

Brexile · 30/03/2024 21:15

Yes, definitely Lyam (sic) and anything with a Y where there shouldn't be, like Eythan.

Mielbee · 30/03/2024 21:14

Sylvie and Rémy! Though I'm not French so can't comment on how old‐fashioned Sylvie is.

NameChange30 · 30/03/2024 21:11

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:11

I had a stagiaire called Anaële who told me her name always gets autocorrected to Anal.

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😱

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:11

Brexile · 30/03/2024 21:10

Lol. Anaëlle too: it's just not worth it.

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I had a stagiaire called Anaële who told me her name always gets autocorrected to Anal.

Brexile · 30/03/2024 21:10

NameChange30 · 30/03/2024 21:05

We like Anaïs but ruled it out because... can you imagine the average English-speaker trying to pronounce it?!

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Lol. Anaëlle too: it's just not worth it.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:10

Brexile · 30/03/2024 21:08

Oops, I should have linked to the first page: https://www.journaldesfemmes.fr/prenoms/classement/prenoms/les-plus-donnes
@MissScarletInTheBallroom is right to bring in the nicknames-instead-of-full-name names like Enzo. Enzo and Nolan are the early teen "naughty boy" names - as is Mathis, although the name itself might be perfectly fine. Dylan is definitely highly chavvy in France, so Owen might well be too - Owens haven't started turning up in my classes yet, so I don't know.

Agree with Nolan.

Oh and Liam, even more so if it's spelled Lyam with a Y, definitely belongs in this category.

Brexile · 30/03/2024 21:08

Oops, I should have linked to the first page: https://www.journaldesfemmes.fr/prenoms/classement/prenoms/les-plus-donnes
@MissScarletInTheBallroom is right to bring in the nicknames-instead-of-full-name names like Enzo. Enzo and Nolan are the early teen "naughty boy" names - as is Mathis, although the name itself might be perfectly fine. Dylan is definitely highly chavvy in France, so Owen might well be too - Owens haven't started turning up in my classes yet, so I don't know.

Prénoms les plus donnés : le classement 2023

Quels sont les prénoms les plus donnés en France en 2023 ? Retrouvez la page 1 de notre classement 2023 complet

https://www.journaldesfemmes.fr/prenoms/classement/prenoms/les-plus-donnes

NameChange30 · 30/03/2024 21:05

Branleuse · 30/03/2024 21:00

Nina
Elodie
Elise
Anais

We like Anaïs but ruled it out because... can you imagine the average English-speaker trying to pronounce it?!

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 30/03/2024 21:01

Beasmum4 · 30/03/2024 20:51

stay clear of the tacky American-style names that are popping up in France now.

Ooh what are they?! Please give us a little list.

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Ayden, Jayden, Kayden... Dylan. Enzo.

I actually suspect Owen might belong on this list. To me it's an old Welsh name but for some inexplicable reason it's currently popular in France and I suspect it might be the new Kevin.

Branleuse · 30/03/2024 21:00

Nina
Elodie
Elise
Anais

Brexile · 30/03/2024 20:58

Beasmum4 · 30/03/2024 20:51

stay clear of the tacky American-style names that are popping up in France now.

Ooh what are they?! Please give us a little list.

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Usually it's the surname-as-first-name type. Tyler, Warren, that sort of thing. Oh, and Marlon's in the top 500 too!

https://www.journaldesfemmes.fr/prenoms/classement/prenoms/les-plus-donnes?page=15

There seems to be a bit of a conservative backlash though, with Marcus, Marius (love it) and even Priam in the charts - plus the usual Biblical names. (Although even the Biblical names might have a relatively benign anglophone influence: Noah is more popular than Noé, for example, and James isn't the Frenchest of names.)

Prénoms les plus donnés : le classement 2023 (page 15)

Quels sont les prénoms les plus donnés en France en 2023 ? Retrouvez la page 15 de notre classement 2023 complet

https://www.journaldesfemmes.fr/prenoms/classement/prenoms/les-plus-donnes?page=15

noooooooo · 30/03/2024 20:57

Would some of the French posters be kind enough to share names that would be seen as the equivalents of 80s faves Darren and Sharon in France? It’s interesting because to an ignorant Francophile like me they all sound terribly glamorous 😂

Beasmum4 · 30/03/2024 20:57

Lifeinlists · 30/03/2024 17:20

I taught a French girl called Violette. I really liked it although I don't care for the name Violet in the UK. I think the sounds were softer somehow.
No idea how fashionable or otherwise it is in France currently.

Imo you can't go wrong with Charlotte, Sophie, Elise etc. So many nice French names.

I especially like Raphael and Louis from your boys' list.

Have double barrelled names gone out of fashion in France now? Thinking about it, all the ones I know are adults : Marie Claire etc.

As I always say - popular names are usually popular for a good reason.

I taught a French girl called Violette. I really liked it

the ette ending is very dated in France but think more Janet kind of dated than Elsie.

Beasmum4 · 30/03/2024 20:51

Brexile · 30/03/2024 20:29

I've met a French Florence and a few Sylvies, and they are all well into their fifties. Charlotte is a very well -regarded name, and I taught one who would be 17 now. She wouldn't have any trouble finding a personalised key ring, mug etc. either. I think you've got the right idea: find something traditional but not a middle aged/granny name, and stay clear of the tacky American-style names that are popping up in France now.

stay clear of the tacky American-style names that are popping up in France now.

Ooh what are they?! Please give us a little list.

Beasmum4 · 30/03/2024 20:50

Spirallingdownwards · 30/03/2024 16:33

Elodie
Chloe

but I do like all your girl names.

Louis I like but less keen on your others as Thèo will be pronounced Theee-oh here.

What about Beau maybe?

What about Beau maybe?

My DH is French and he was stunned when an English friend of a friend named their baby this. I argued it’s cute but he said to me, being English, “Would you name your baby “Handsome”?

Fair point…