french names in france.

[potatomonster]

Hello.
I'm half scottish, half irish and living in scotland married to a frenchman who was mostly brought up here but with his family now all in france.

We're considering loads of names and have quite a few scottish/irish names in mind.
However, whenit comes to french names I'm a bit worried that we'd pick something that would sound nice here but his relatives would think was really weird. i don't want to pick a name only to find out it's the French equivilent of calling a baby Sharon or Trevor (perfectly normal names for people my age or older but you have to admit there aren't many babies being called this now)
DH's family are in Brittany so French or Breton names are acceptable. I have some caveats:

1. Nothing too common (i.e. nothing from the top 10 baby names lists)
2. Nothing chavvy or too celebrity
3. Nothing too middle-aged/old person (but older person names that are making a comeback are acceptable)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Why don't you tell us the names you like and I will tell you in which category they fall?

Well I don't live in France but love some French names - what about

Celeste
Delphine
Amelie
Emmeline

Or boys

Jerome
Guillaume
Etienne

?

Jérôme is in his late 30s / early 40s.
I'd avoid name with é / è / ë etc. especially if you want your child to have a dual citizenship. Believe me, it can lead to lots of problems with French administrations. (my son was not legally my son for about 6 months because of a missing é in my first name).

The French seem to like unique names, different foreign names, and made up names. I know a Tao from a TV cartoon character his mum liked as a child, children named Kevin, Paul, Adam, Sharon and Tracy because their parents thought they were different and also Kenzi, Kenzo and Kenze!

Agree with Javotte, spellings can be tricky.

French names:

• classic/timeless but not overly popular:

Albane !! We considered it for DD, it has a link to Alba (hence to Scotland) and is pronounced "Ahl-bahnn" (rhymes with "Anne"). It is pretty rare in France and I find it very elegant. Domitille Roxane Ariane

Amaury ("ah-moh-ree")
Gaspard
Gauthier
Constant
Henri
Quentin
Gregoire

• retro

Leonie (probably top 100) Louise (top 10 tough..) Alix Josephine Honorine

Oscar
Felix
Clovis
Basile
Etienne
Augustin
Marius
Léopold

Some Breton names that should work in the UK:
Enora
Erell
Nolwenn
Maelle
Awena, Arwena

Yann
Mael
Loic

You should find some other ideas in Le Figaro (most of the names are retro, timeless or posh): www.lefigaro.fr/carnet_du_jour/Carnet_des_prenoms_2013.pdf
Do not worry about the names you like being in their top 10, they will not be in the "global" top 10 (except maybe for Louise).

A friend of mine was in a similar boat, and her 3 girls are called Elise, Monet and Simone. So many pretty Breton names do have the ë. As for boys, my only French male friends are called Benoit and Rudy.

Our little girl is called Amelie without the é! DP wanted Emily which I wasn't keen on so I suggested Amelie as it fits in with his French (creole) roots. Plus it's a gorgeous name and I love the film

My niece and nephews are english/french similar situation. Their names being pronounced the same in both countries. Also have friends similar situations. Also cousins of my niece and nephews.

Lucy
Evie
Lola
Leila
Charlene
Gabrielle
Benjamin
Evan
Etienne
Dylan
Luca

Boys
Rank Name

1. Enzo
2. Lucas
3. Mathis
4. Nathan
5. Thomas
6. Hugo
7. Théo
8. Tom
9. Louis

10. Raphaël 11. Clément 12. Léo 13. Mathéo 14. Maxime 15. Alexandre 16. Antoine 17. Yanis 18. Paul 19. Baptiste 20. Alexis 21. Gabriel 22. Arthur 23. Jules 24. Ethan 25. Noah 26. Quentin 27. Axel 28. Evan 29. Mattéo 30. Romain

Girls
Rank Name

1. Emma
2. Léa
3. Clara
4. Manon
5. Chloé
6. Camille
7. Ines
8. Sarah
9. Jade

10. Lola 11. Anaïs 12. Lucie 13. Océane 14. Lilou 15. Marie 16. Eva 17. Romane 18. Lisa 19. Zoe 20. Julie 21. Mathilde 22. Louise 23. Juliette 24. Clémence 25. Célia 26. Laura 27. Lena 28. Maëlys 29. Charlotte 30. Ambre

I have a Claudia but also love Claudine