Leon vs Frédéric (nn Freddie)

[TheGrumpySquirrel]

Narrowed our name choice down to these two.. thinking of choosing between them when he is born but what if I still can't decide?! Votes please!

How are you pronouncing Leon? Lee on? If so, definitely go for Frederic.

Are you French? If so Frédéric, if not Leon which I think is easier for English speakers to pronounce. Having said that, I have a Fred with a foreign version as a full name!

Both just lovely names but I'd go with Leon as Frederic Freddie ect is really popular at minute

Leon.

Husband is French. I think both work in both languages. But yes Freddie is v popular right now so Leon would be more unusual

However for some reason I feel like Freddie is a more natural fit in our family

But Leon is a v cool name. Argh!

Freddie

Love both but going to say Leon as it's less common.

How is Leon less common? Lots of men my age (35-40 plus) are called Leon - it used to be really popular in the eighties and nineties. It’s also the name of a fastfood shop!

I prefer Frederick or Alfred.

Leon.

Frédéric is a bit middle-aged in France. I wouldn't use it if there's any chance you may end up moving over.
Leon works in both languages and would be a good fit in either place, IMO.

Thanks vitamin it's good to get that perspective- possibly why MIL wasn't super keen! Maybe we will use it for a middle name and go for Leon as first. Then we can always call him Freddie if we prefer it!

Okay - some other options..
Hunter
Sebastien

Tristan
Fletcher
Fergus
Felix
Jackson
Harrison

Will French family be able to say names beginning with h?

That's a good point! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I’m saying all the above names in a French accent : Fergus sounds very odd but Felix and Jackson sound good. Jackson is my fave...

Leon makes me think if the fast food place

Thanks that's helpful! Is Felix very common? I like Jackson but will inevitably get called jack

Is Leonard too "old man"?

Would you be happy with it being shortened to Leo ?

Félix is a great name in either language
Tristan would work, too.

Beware of using names that sound too American, as they tend to be seen as quite trashy in France ("soap opera names").

And Sébastien is similar to Frédéric, I'm afraid - I don't know any who are under 45. It would be a bit like using Gary or Dean - not old-fashioned enough for grandad chic just yet, but definitely dated.

Both Léonard and Léon would work. As would Leo, in fact.

Love Leon!

Where will you be living ?
I think, with Frederick being fairly popular at the moment, he will get Frederic (sorry, don't know how to do accents on my keyboard)) spelled the English way a lot, if you are living in the UK.