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Shortlist: French/Irish/English baby girl!

50 replies

NameChangedForBabyNames · 24/04/2018 19:48

Help me whittle down our shortlist!

Surname traditionally Irish beginning with ‘M’.

DH is Irish, I have a French father and English mother, so names that work in all three countries would be fabulous as we spend lots of time in France/Ireland with extended family.

The shortlist is:
Clara
Alice
Fleur
Orla
Caoimhe
Kitty

Anyone any positives/negatives about these names?

Thank you!

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starkid · 25/04/2018 22:02

Clara is lovely

Quiltsalot · 25/04/2018 22:08

Clara and Alice are lovely. A friend of mine has a French/Irish family, her daughter is Caroline which works well on both sides, it’s a lovely name too.

Alexia05 · 27/04/2018 12:34

The only name on your list I really don't like is Kitty. And although it's perfectly pronouncable in French, it will sound a bit weird in France.
Fleur on the other hand, might sound a but weird in Ireland or will be pronounced wrong.
So in my opinion, the most international name on your list is Alice.
Orla and Caoimhe will cause no difficulties either, but as you probably know, French speaking people will put the accent on the last letter (so on the 'a').
So I would go for Alice, Orla or Caoimhe.
There are lots of international names that are known in both English and French::
Laura, Sophie, Sophia, Lisa; Emilie, Anna, Lina, Louise, Michelle, VIctoria, Olivia, Elise, Isabella, Isabelle, Chloë/Chloé/Chloe, Evelyn, Livia, Lily, Hannah, Alicia, Alyssa, Charlotte, Claire/Clare, Ella, Emilia, Amelia, Nora, etc
Mostly classic names can stand the test. :-)

GreatDane10 · 04/05/2018 22:08

I live in a French speaking country and Alice and Clara would definitively work the best for your French speaking relatives (my money is on Clara, I think that’s a great name)

FluctuatNecMergitur · 05/05/2018 14:53

As has been pointed out, no-one in France will have a clue how to pronounce Caoimhe. I know an Aoife in France who gets called Waff a lot Grin

RavenWings · 05/05/2018 15:41

Kitty will sound a bit weird in Ireland, your average person called Kitty is elderly or almost there imo. It's like Peggy or Bridie.

The rest would be fine, Fleur might occasionally run into pronunciation issues but I think people would recognise it as French. I think Orla is best from the list.

Agustarella · 05/05/2018 16:29

Clara is lovely. I think the Caoimhe one will confuse anyone not of Irish extraction.

bridgetreilly · 05/05/2018 20:11

In order, I like:
Fleur
Orla
Kitty
Clara
Alice

Caoimhe really doesn't work for French or English speakers, sorry.

WaxOnFeckOff · 06/05/2018 23:27

I prefer Kitty to Katie but also like Kizzy as a short version of Katherine/Kathleen.

Alice is a nice all rounder.

I prefer Carla to Clara

Not keen on Fleur and Orla and agree that Caoimhe really doesn't work.

How about:
Maura/Mara
Meredith
Carys
Louisa/Eloise

Rainatnight · 06/05/2018 23:38

What about Flora or Florence as a slightly more straightforward/English-friendly alternative to Fleur?

bebehen · 07/05/2018 12:07

My DH is French - so we have some French names on our list too, but thinking what could work easily, what about:

Iris
Honor
Tessa
Eve /Evy
Erin

I love Kitty!!! Clara and Alice also are winners from your list :) Hope you find one you love!

bebehen · 07/05/2018 12:09

Also - Edith / Edie for short
Very French & very Anglophone !

NameChange30 · 07/05/2018 12:16

“Caoimhe might be tricky for the French contingent, that’s true.”

LOL at “might be tricky”, that’s some classic English understatement right there Grin

The French won’t have a clue how to pronounce it. Most English don’t either.

I like Adele and Margot as suggested by PPs but they’re different from your shortlist.

In any case I would choose something more English/French than Irish given that she’ll have an Irish surname.

YaBasic · 07/05/2018 12:17

Edith is lovely actually - I would not even mind the French relatives pronouncing it Ee-dit, it's cute.
I also like Aurelia/Aurelie.
Aimee is gorgeous, name and meaning.
Nicole/Nicolette/Colette are lovely.
Naomi I have seen used by French families.
From yours I thought Kitty had a certain je ne sais quoi Wink

NameChange30 · 07/05/2018 12:18

Oh but not Fleur. Too cutesy for me. Imagine being called Flower Confused

YaBasic · 07/05/2018 12:19

I knew a double barrelled Kitty-Claire if that helps!

Sophie is ubiquitous but easy for all. Sylvie is a bit more unusual.

MikeUniformMike · 07/05/2018 12:21

Clara - prefer Claire
Alice - yes but would be pronounced Aleece in France
Fleur - Lovely, but I would ask someone French if it works there
Orla - no
Caoimhe - no
Kitty - no

deadringer · 07/05/2018 12:26

Can I suggest Cara? It's very similar to Clara but is Irish for friend and I think its also a French word.

bebehen · 07/05/2018 12:27

@YaBasic - Sylivie love this, it's now going on my list too! Thanks ;)

YaBasic · 07/05/2018 12:31

You're welcome. I used to teach and I only ever taught one Sylvie but it stuck with me as a pretty name. It means ''of the forest'' apparently so now you'll have to go and give birth in the woods…Shamrock with that Grin

MikeUniformMike · 07/05/2018 12:35

Cara is much nicer than Clara.

bebehen · 07/05/2018 12:35

Lol - don't think that's a good look for me ;)

CormoranStrike · 07/05/2018 12:36

Juliet
Josephine
Annabelle

MikeUniformMike · 07/05/2018 14:40

Try each one with your surname.

I really don't like Carys. It sounds really frumpy to me, and I can't see it working in France.

Raffadoodle · 07/05/2018 15:37

Love Orla and Erin xx

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