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Baby names

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Original poster

Fanny for a girl?

294 replies

LemonZebras · 21/02/2026 16:59

Hi everyone,

I’m expecting a baby girl. My husband is French and is insistent that he wants to name our daughter after his aunt who raised him - Fanny! It’s a common French name, but the baby will be born and raised in the UK.

Am I unreasonable to say no and to worry that she would be bullied or made fun of? My husband thinks I’m overreacting and that the slang word is barely used nowadays and that not many people know of it.

I will be showing him this thread with the different responses.

Thank you

OP posts:
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BluTangClan · 22/02/2026 15:40

Do it!
It will be character building.

forgotmyusername1 · 22/02/2026 15:38

Tell him he may as well call his daughter Vagazzle and be done with it

Yerdug · 22/02/2026 15:22

Absolument pas! Non Monsieur, non, non, non.

Blanknotebook · 22/02/2026 15:20

Françoise is not a bad name, but definitely not Fanny! She would be ridiculed her whole life! It only means one thing in the UK.

Lilactimes · 22/02/2026 15:16

Really pleased he's agreed! Louise is lovely!
was going to say fanny isn't great in the US either:

Gagamama2 · 22/02/2026 15:16

Noooo! Francesca though is a beautiful nod to Fanny. I knew a girl with Italian parents at school who called her Regina…obviously she was nicknamed Vagina by the boys ☹️

Viviennemary · 22/02/2026 15:03

No other word but NO.

LancashireButterPie · 22/02/2026 14:57

Louise is a lovely name. You made the right choice.

Doubledenim305 · 22/02/2026 14:44

100% no.
We had a French assistant in our department at school and she was called "fanny".
Her name was promptly changed to "Annie".
Kids never found out,🤣

ChattiB · 22/02/2026 14:43

My 6 year old is in stitches at "Aunt Fanny" in famous five. Seems it is still a known slang term! I really wouldn't!

Mythoughtsalone · 22/02/2026 14:40

If you live in the UK that can not be a realistic option. What type of parent would inflict that on their child? Tell him it would be the equivalent of calling the child the French word for it if you lived in France. Would he realistically think that was acceptable? There are other ways to remember his aunt and this isn't one of them!

Amie30 · 22/02/2026 14:35

I knew a guy whose surname was fidget and he swore his granny’s name had been Fanny. Makes me laugh years later.

glad you’ve reached a good solution OP!

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 22/02/2026 14:31

Once again we really need MNHQ to let the OP pin their update, because no-one bothers with 'see all' even when OP has only made four posts.

DH has backed down. They aren't going to use Fanny.

Hankunamatata · 22/02/2026 14:28

There aew so many beautiful French names!!! Just not fanny lol

MotherJessAndKittens · 22/02/2026 14:26

Definitely not. She would be teased and mocked. How about Franny short for Francesca?

Happyasapiginmuck1 · 22/02/2026 14:25

Go for the equivalent french words to get your point across to him. Lecon, Lachatte or Lemoule should do it!

Gilo2024 · 22/02/2026 14:22

Absolutely NOT

Warmlight1 · 22/02/2026 14:21

No
Here it means girls genitals there's simply no arguing. In the US it means bum.

CheekyPony · 22/02/2026 14:20

Don’t do it. My daughter and I call our lady bits ‘fanny!’

LittleRoom · 22/02/2026 14:15

So glad he backed down, OP. Louise is lovely. Lots of us my age (40's) but I do know a teen and a toddler Louise - I think it's pretty classic.

Side note, I'm surprised how many people don't know Francis is the male variant and Frances the female.

AnAppleAWeek · 22/02/2026 14:14

Let’s just leave this here!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=IcKlVojfMD4

AlbertaWildRose · 22/02/2026 14:06

This thread is now appearing on Facebook, and someone there had an absolutely brilliant comment: "Kids should be given the full name so they have the option of using it when they grow up. Call her Vagina. Fanny for short."

Muffinmam · 22/02/2026 14:04

Absolutely not!! It’s an ugly name and (in my country) is slang for a female’s genitals and in the US Fanny refers to a person’s arse.

AmateurOwls · 22/02/2026 14:03

Please don't do it. I have this name in my family tree and everyone I've talked to about my research has laughed. It's still commonly used for it's slang meaning!

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