what girls' names do the French middle classes turn their noses up at?

[NatureAbhorsAHoover]

What would the haute bourgeoisie think of as a tacky/trashy name for a baby girl? I speak french but have no idea what sounds déclassé to a French ear.

Not looking to vilify; am interested in the tonal sounds, themes and signifiers that surely exist just as much in France as here?

I have a French friend called Olivier. I always assumed that was the French version of Oliver.

Loving this thread. DH is French and I’m keeping an eye in case we add any more to our brood

I'm curious about Genevieve and Madeleine. They've always been my favourite French names.

What would the French think of Therèse these days? It was my (Irish) grandmother’s name

CraicMammy Geneviève is at least 60 years old.
Most Madeleines are elderly women, but I think it is making a comeback. It is given by haute bourgeoisie and /or traditional Catholic families.

Thérèse is outdated too. I have met a couple of young Thérèses, also from traditional, Catholic, bourgeois families.

I love the name Capucine too. I used to know one and she was very posh 😂. I also know an adult Amalie who jokingly introduces herself as Amalie 'before the film'

I have a beautiful French name. I love it. No one can spell it though.

How is Josephine viewed by the French? Classic, dull, too common?

Off topic, but I love the name Romilly Hipppa.

Where would the following stand?

Lucille
Camille
Julien
Magalie

Anyone know?

What do they think of Manon and Julie?
I remember Oceane used to be popular. Is that a bit looked down on?

Priam Camille is very popular at the moment.
Most Juliens were born in the 80s, but it would not stand out, even today.
Magalie is also a child of the 70s-80s, and I think it was more a lower class name.
Lucile is not as popular as Lucie but I do not think it sounds dated or "out there".

What about Marcheline (Angelina Jolie's mother's name)? I think it is so pretty.

Yvette Manon peaked a few years ago but it is still very popular.
Julie peaked in the 80s/90s but does not sounds dated. It is a traditional, "neutral" name.
Océane was very popular for millenials but I think it is already dated. It is still give, though.

Aderyn17 Marcheline is unheard of. It must have been a made-up name. Marceline exists. A Marceline would be in her 90s but I think it may be ready for a comeback.

Thanks Burpees.

Magalie reminds me of the chatacter in the Judith Krantz novel, 'Mistral's daughter'. I really like it.

It's funny how differently we view names when we are not influrnced by cultural connotations. Sharon, for ex, sounds lovely once you take away the Essex girl associations. It's a shame it got ruined by that.

I'm not sure that what a PP said about names ending in 'a' being declasse...

I've know rather a few extremely posh families whose girls had names which ending in 'a'. In fact one family of former french nobility has 4 daughters all of whose names end in a.

Personally I like the names Aurelie and Elodie, but as someone else mention names ending in -ine are generally well accepted by the haute bourgeoisie, I like Clementine and Justine (but I only like the way they sound in French not English). Julien may not be quite as common now as it once was but it's still pretty ubiquitous.

Burpees I agree about Marceline, I think it's due a comeback

Joseph and Josephine are fairly unusual but are becoming more popular and are considered trendy and good.

We had loads of compliments for Joseph which surprised DH because he thought of it as a very serious name.

Where I live, which is a bit posh, anglo-saxon names just aren't used. It doesn't help that lots of them aren't very easy to pronounce for the French.

Here we have lots of "posh" names like Appoline, Brune, Amboise, Melchior...

The top 10 names this year are (girls)
Louise
Jade
Emma
Chloé
Alice
Inès
Léa
Manon
Lina
Mila

Top 10 boys names
Gabriel
Jules & Raphaël
Léo
Adam
Lucas
Louis
Liam
Ethan
Hugo
Arthur

Among my bobo French friends-with-children, there's a Capucine and a Heloise. The poshest, who is Anglo-French (but living in France), called her daughter Rose, which was very practical.

This thread is so interesting!

This is really interesting. Both my DDs' names are listed here. We have no French connections but seem to love their names. We knew when we named the girls that their names would be viewed differently in France than here but if I met a French girl with a name I considered dated or whatever I'd just put it down to cultural differences and certainly wouldn't judge in any negative way. Therefore we decided to go with the names we loved. Both of which have been commented on positively (and repeatedly!) by a French acquaintance, by the way!

interesting thread

@INeedNewShoes Thank you...I think it might creep up the ranks soon and not be as unique as I'd hoped!

pimsy I also know a Hippolyte. I wonder if we know the same people. There can't be that many of them! Do his parents have the initals M and F?

Can we hear a few more posh French children's names please...? I love them all

Great thread