Using French names in England - pretentious?

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OH thinks so. I do not.

It stemmed from a discussion on the names Jack and Jaques (as middle names not that it's relevant).

So, do you think using French names in England (or for an English child) is pretentious? Does it just go for names not commonly used in England like Yves or Jaques? Or are Sophie and Sebastien in the same category? What about French spellings like Mathilde over Matilda?

(Little disclaimer: both OH and I have DC with French names already...).

Depends on the name and how tricky it is to pronounce, I guess. I mean look at Amelie. That was pretty mainstream for a while.

I like it when there's either a link or last name is French. We called our son an Italian name because our last name is Italian. Couldn't have done it with my maiden name I don't think

As Hey said - it depends. Personally I wouldn give a baby a very French name without a reason as you and they are likely to be asked a lot! And it can get tiresome. (Speaking from experience here).

It depends if you're french.

My DP is Dutch and it's more important to me that they don't have really strange names for either country.

At least spell them right - it's Jacques

This often comes up- consensus seems to be that if it's a name which has passed into common usage in the other country (Sophie) then it's fine. If not, and you suddenly launched a Fabienne on the unsuspecting public of Rotherham (or wherever) it would sound a bit wanky.

There is often the danger also that people choose "foreign" names thinking how lovely they are when they are very old lady and not at all chic (iyswim) the equivalent of a French family calling their son Enoch or something. Almost all the Italian names I see on here (from UK parents) are nowadays only to be found in the 70+ age group.

Think also of the pronunciation. Think of Elodie said by Timothy Spall when he's doing Birmingham.

I do not think there is anything wrong using a French name in principle but it will cause a lifetime of misspellings and mispronunciation for your child!

Each to their own, if you like it, that's all that matters

A lot of French names are regularly used without people realising a famous Brit star has a French name believe it or not it's the same name as me. I say if you like the name go for it

sukitakeitoff - I have been living in England too long I didn't even notice .

There are lots of French names like Jacqueline, Valerie, Yvonne, Diane, Michelle, Marie etc which were fashionable in the UK for babies in the 50s 60s, it's not new or shocking.

It depends how it's spelled and how easy it is to pronounce. Jacques, Amelie, Yves, Celeste etc all translate fairly easily, name like Renaud or Severine less so.

If it's really French (like the ones FenellaMaxwell mentioned), then I think it's a bit odd, unless of course the child has French heritage, in which case it's a nice way to keep that heritage alive.

Ditto Irish/Dutch/Spanish or any other nationality. I would find it strange if you called your child Saoirse, Rodrigo or Tineke if you were 10th generation British.....

However, quite a few names with French origin have been pretty much adopted here. Example - my DNeice is Isabelle.

Also be aware of what is à la mode because a lot of those French names which are used abroad are very funny for us because they are old-fashioned and frumpy rather than old-fashioned and cool. There aren't many babies or little girls called Yvonne, for instance, let alone teenagers, but give it another 10 or 15 years and perhaps there will be...

Good point, Madamfrog! I wonder if the nations of the world are full of Kenneths, Sharons and Geoffs because people think they are cool English names?

Jaques is spelt correctly if you mean the name that is pronounced Jake-wis, but not if you mean the French for James/Jacob,
Jacques

I find it as odd as French people calling their children Brandon, Brenda (90210 has a lot to answer for), Kevin, Evan - and butchering the pronunciation in the process. There's a weird cultural appropriation thing to this, for me.

However - putting my own strange principles to one side - I have a French name (being that I am French) and every other person I meet gets it wrong. Even those that get it right, clearly pronounce it in a way that isn't actually my name, either. That gets old.

I hope its not, as my children have french names, but their dad is french, so hopefully I can get away with it.

I have a French name and have always liked it. It's unusual here without being silly or modish. I wouldn't go for a French name like Laurence for a girl as that would lead to a life time of explaining to people that she's female, too confusing.

I have a very boring ordinary unexotic French name and it has always been massacred in the UK.
I know children here whose parents don't speak a word of English, who have English names quite often spelt phonetically eg 'Braillane' = Brian. I suppose the equivalent would be calling a girl in the UK 'Zhackeleen'. Television has a lot to answer for.
I know a Heavenly ( pronounced Ev-enn-lee) who told me her mother saw it in a magazine.

MadamFrog, it always made me giggle a little that we chose dd's name carefully to make sure it was easy to say / spell in Spanish. Then she was in nursery with dc called Marlon and Kimberley . . . US daytime soaps have a lot to answer for! (I'm still glad I didn't succumb to hormones and insist on calling her Maria del Mar though - I think you have to be not just Spanish but also Catholic to carry that one off )

DS has a classmate in France called Bruthnie. pronounced Britney.

I had a friend called Yves. Even teachers mocked it. I always thought it came over very pretentious but that's the name in itself rather than the origin of it I think.