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Original poster

Baby girl names to suit different British and French naming styles

87 replies

Indiff · 17/09/2026 13:03

Hi all, so my husband and I are expecting our first child together, we both have children from our first marriages and my husband is French.

We have very very different naming styles.

My children are Pippa Jane and Leo Mark, family names for middle names. His children each have 3 middle names! And quite formal to me anyway first names, their names are Arthur Louis Marc Gaspard and Estelle Inès Pascale Aliénor.

We are expecting a little girl

My husband loves

Blanche, Victoire, Apolline and Eugénie
I think these are all far too heavy and I don’t like them.

I love Clara, Phoebe, Alice, Juliette, he doesn’t like any of these!

Can anyone help us find a name we both like?

OP posts:
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cityliving99 · 21/09/2026 19:37

Eleanore
Delphine
Anna

Calliopespa · 21/09/2026 19:30

Roseau24 · 20/09/2026 21:35

That is a boy's name!

Show quote history

Laurence

Gonnaeatalotofpeaches · 21/09/2026 13:02

Here is a list I like from my three year olds Maternelle class, Alba, Alma, Elina, Lucie.
Maybe Marie or Louise would be good classic names that aren’t too frilly.
Although every other girl in my children’s maternelle are Louise or Alba.

dreamingofgoodhair · 21/09/2026 09:17

I like Josephine and Eleanor.

mumumental · 21/09/2026 09:15

Roseau24 · 20/09/2026 21:35

That is a boy's name!

Show quote history

Ah yes. Perhaps I meant Laurence. I once lived with a woman with that name.

MabelAnderson · 20/09/2026 22:03

Marianne, Matilde, Monique, Maude .
Sylvie, Sophie, Celeste
Adelle, Josephine, Pauline, Louise, Yvette.

ladygindiva · 20/09/2026 21:52

Genevieve
Amelie
Helena
Margot

Roseau24 · 20/09/2026 21:35

mumumental · 20/09/2026 21:29

How about Laurent?

That is a boy's name!

mumumental · 20/09/2026 21:29

How about Laurent?

mathanxiety · 20/09/2026 16:41

*Clarisse

mathanxiety · 20/09/2026 16:38

I agree with PPs that your names are quite British and a bit on the twee side. I like your DH's name vibe more.

Suggestions:
Catherine
Cecelia
Heloise
Sybille
Laetitia
Tatiana
Esmee
Olivia
Antonia
Lucille
Sidonie
Emeline
Helene
Penelope
Athena
Lydia
Ariane
Astrid
Emilie
Thalia
Rosalie
Emma
Agathe
Alma
Mathilde
Celestine
Anouk
Cloe
Cleo
Morgane
Anastasia
Valentina
Raphaelle
Clementine
Charlotte
Romane
Clarissa
Philomene
Bertille
Apolline
Anna

Your H can fill in accents as needed.

RowsOfFlowers · 20/09/2026 14:16

Seraphine is lovely!

FreeRangeViews · 20/09/2026 11:10

Oh I could have written this! Except we live in France.

My shortlist - Sophie, Juliette, Anna, Louisa, Maéva, Eveline (old ladyish for the French, but I like it), Éliane (also old ladyish and unusual), Laurianne (too 80s?)

My bf's suggestion - Anastasia (too fussy for my taste)

I like Zélie but I think it's pretty unusual.

I also like Clara but have discovered that all French men my age strongly associate it with the porn star of the same name who was big when they were teenagers....I really like Flora but for me it doesn't work well with what will be the baby's surname (also, margarine).

What about a name that ends in -ine? Amandine, Delphine, Céline etc. I think they sound nice to British ears and are not difficult to pronounce. My reading is that they are not considered too posh/too common/too catholic in France but I'm not necessarily an expert on all the connotations.

Some baby girls names that French friends have chosen recently are Noélie, Rosalie, Emeline, Jeanne, Artemis, Ophelia, Myrtille, Marie.

Monacrch · 20/09/2026 10:36

I love the name Jade, if I have another little girl that’s going to be her name. It’s not as common in the uk as it used to be but I recently found out it’s super popular in France albeit pronounced slightly differently

Wallywobbles · 20/09/2026 07:55

Second names in France are often the godparents names.

mogtheexcellent · 20/09/2026 07:26

We have a French surname and went with Emma as very popular in Europe, especially France. Also not massively popular in England. None at my daughters large primary and only one other (2 years older) at her high school.

user1492757084 · 20/09/2026 06:44

Alizee Josephine
Charlotta Marie Pomeline
Gisele Fleur
Clemence Madeleine
Eloise Chlotilde

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 19/09/2026 13:44

Camille
Sophie
Rachelle
Charlotte
Madeleine
Juliette
Elodie

Quincy2381 · 18/09/2026 22:45

Amie
Amelie
Sophie(a)
Marie

Calliopespa · 18/09/2026 22:40

You should warn your DH, OP, that Blanche is a name that really changes with a British pronunciation! It sounds like blanching broccoli!

CatVester · 18/09/2026 20:37

Thomasine is a great suggestion.

gratedcheeseandham · 18/09/2026 20:30

I’m English and my husband is French. His sister is actually called Apolline, and his best friend’s daughter Blanche!

We had a boy (who also has 3 middle names, as does my husband) but girl names included:

Helene (this was his top name)
Daphne
Anna
Alice
Erica
Coraline (pronounced Cora-leen)

OublietteBravo · 18/09/2026 18:22

Adeline, Agnès, Chloé, Thomasine, Yvette

WaryCyanStork · 18/09/2026 18:01

We're a British/Belgian couple so have been through this. There are lots of names which work in both. Alice and Clara on your list are two I would have suggested, but it seems you like very different styles of name to each other, regardless of language.

Some ideas that maybe fall somewhere in between your styles:
Charlotte (Charlie)
Victoria
Albane
Elena
Margot
Amelia
Sophia/Sophie
Emily/Emilie

Calliopespa · 18/09/2026 17:47

I actually love Apolline - and Polly is very sweet and seems to fit your style?