Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

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

Original poster

French-English girls names: opinions on our short list please

41 replies

language · 02/09/2012 21:05

After much discussion, we finally have our short list! We are French, living in England, so we are looking for names which work in both countries. Many thanks for your opinions!

Isabelle
Hélène
Marguerite
Lucie
Clarisse
Melanie

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
gallicgirl · 02/09/2012 21:09

Isabelle and Lucie are popular names in the UK but you will have to correct spelling, I'm sure.

Personally I love Helene and Marguerite (an English nickname for Marguerite is Daisy :) )

Clarisse I'm not keen on, it sounds a bit stuffy and I haven't heard Melanie for years but you'd have no problems with spelling or pronunciation.

Yika · 02/09/2012 21:13

I like Melanie, it's pretty and works really well in both languages.

DialMforMummy · 02/09/2012 21:13

From your list, I like Lucie. It might be misspelled in the UK on a regular basis though.
Seriously dislike Marguerite in French.
The others, I think they are ok, but they don't set my house on fire.

joanofarchitrave · 02/09/2012 21:17

All gorgeous. A real soft spot for Lucie and Isabelle. It's actually almost a shock to see Melanie, to me that is a name for women of my age (around 40) but it's pretty.

I really like Hélène but I think you should only pick it if you also like Helen because that's how it will be pronounced over here most of the time IMO.

Stellan · 02/09/2012 21:31

Isabelle - This is a nice name but it is quite common in the UK. I do not know whether you want a name that marks your daughter out as being French or not but if you do, I would choose something else as this is so popular. If you just want a pretty name that works well in both languages, it is a nice choice. Beware that it will be spelled Isabel and Isobel too.
Hélène - I think people will pronounce this name as Helen and that might be irritating.
Marguerite - I think this is pretty in French but less so in English.
Lucie - I like this but she may have to say, 'Lucie with an IE.'
Clarisse - I think this name sounds quite dated.
Melanie - I would choose this name out of all of those you have listed.

Cleo123 · 02/09/2012 22:03

Melanie is my middle name and I have a soft spot for it. I always wished I had been called this. Duevfor a revival as very pretty.

All the other names are lovely too. My favourite is obviously Melanie but Lucie And Isabelle wold be my next favourites. Good luck!

FriggFRIGG · 03/09/2012 00:20

Melanie is my middle name to,I've always preferred it to my first name.
It's lovely Smile
I like Lucie too.

Clockless · 03/09/2012 00:33

Isabelle between the different spellings, this has to be the most popular girls name atm. this would put me off.

Hélène like

Marguerite love it

Lucie the spelling is quite unusual, so i like it even though there ar 4 Lucys in my dd class at school.(plus about 6 from other activities)

Clarisse love it
Melanie like a lot

what about Melisse?

fortifiedwithtea · 03/09/2012 00:53

Not Isabelle, it reminds me of a terrible old joke. Knock, knock. Who's there? Isabelle. Isabelle who? Is a bell necessary on a bike. (groan)

Melanie is pretty and I like Marguerite also.

PopcornCity · 03/09/2012 01:00

They're all lovely names!

I think Lucie, Isabelle and Melanie would work well in the UK.

Blu · 03/09/2012 01:20

Eloise
Elodie
Celeste

tigrou · 03/09/2012 07:20

I know a couple of young Marguerites here in France (actually both in bilingual families), and I think it's a lovely name, with Daisy as a possible nickname in the UK. Also like Lucie and Clarisse from your list.

ZombiesAreClammyDodgers · 05/09/2012 01:45

Melanie from your list, Camille or Amelie as suggestions?

MarcelleBabies · 12/09/2012 13:26

Marcelle (my name)
Camille (my sister's name)
Celandine (name of a flower, i love it)

MadBusLady · 12/09/2012 15:11

Ooh, I like Celandine. Marguerite is my favourite from your list, OP. She could be Marga, Margot, Maggie, Meg, Rita or Daisy.

Melanie is definitely a 30s/40s aged name, and I wonder if it would feel a bit odd. When your DD is 20, all the Melanies will be in their 50s/60s. It would be like being 20 now and being called Linda or Barbara or Denise.

worldcitizen · 12/09/2012 17:09

Agree with MadBus

Isabelle and Lucie is wonderful. Who cares about Isabelle being popular right now, as in France this is a timeless and classic name found across all generations.

Autumnalis · 12/09/2012 17:11

I like all apart from Clarisse which I think can sound a bit guttural.

PurpleAndPoppyWearer · 12/09/2012 17:18

Madeleine?

I like all of them except Melanie, which I do think is currently a 30s/40s name and will always be shortened to Mel.

Indith · 12/09/2012 17:19

Isabelle is lovely. Very poopular at the moment but people tend to know the various different spellings which could help.

Helene is lovely but you are going to get a lot of people giving you all sorts of pronunciations. Lots of He-len-a or He-ley-na.

Marguerite is fab. I am biased though since my dd is Margaret. Marguerite is one of my mum's middle names and she is French. We went for English spelling though since we are rarely in France these days.

Lucie is very cute. You'll have to correct spelling a bit but no pronunciation issues.

Clarisse- trouble is noone will every quite get it right. Only do it if you can bear all the Clareeeeeeees!

Melanie is nice, no spelling or pronunciation problems. I don't love it but it isn't my baby.

Viviennemary · 12/09/2012 23:40

I like all the names on your list and Isabelle and Helene best. I also like the name Celine.

Devora · 12/09/2012 23:57

I like Lucie.

mathanxiety · 13/09/2012 03:30

I love them all except Melanie, which will be forever Spice Girls for me.

Do you like Melisande?

Thumbwitch · 13/09/2012 03:35

Don't like Clarisse. Or Clarice.

Claire though, that's all right.

Like the others, but with the same reservations on Isabelle and Lucie regarding spelling and popularity; and pronunciation for Hélène.

MagdalenaAlec · 13/09/2012 09:57

Isabelle: not keen. A little too 60's/70's in France. Annabel is more "up to date" I think. There is also Ysaline ("ee-zah-lynn") an ancient/medivial name which is quite close to Isabelle and very elegant and feminine, like the rest of your list. Bonus, it can be shortened to Izzy if DD later wants a slightly less unusual name.
Hélène: like it
Marguerite: love it but hate the shortening "Marge". I would be worried it will get mangled.
Lucie: international and classic, probably the best choice for "cross border" families. I am not keen at all though.
Clarisse: love it. I think it would work pretty well in the UK. Along the same lines, there is also Clotilde.
Melanie: not keen. Too 80's for me.

Pasiphae · 13/09/2012 13:50

Isabelle was too fashionable the last 10 years, it feels very faded now. And even more so in France where it was quite fashionable in the 70s.
Ditto with Hélène in France.
Marguerite: Perfect, between Yourcenar or Les petites filles modeles!
Lucie is ok, a bit boring, no?
Clarisse is good, not as pretty as Marguerite but lovely.
Melanie is very 80s. The old Amelie.
Have you though about Genevieve?
If you like the 70/80s French names, then Elodie is the one for you, it appears to be coming back in the UK. Or how about Aurelia who was popular at the same time?