Classic 2/3-syllable girls names...

[ChesterBelloc]

...that more or less work in French too. Not much to ask, I know!

Can't have Anna, Sophie, Elisabeth, Marianne or Beatrice (outs self), but these will give you an idea of the kinds of names we like.

The French connection means that the endings will probably have an 'e' rather than an 'a' (e.g: Marguerite rather than Margarita). I'm open to more unusual names, but DH is fairly conservative... Please help!

Clara

Aurelie
Aurelia (I'm hoping I one day have a daughter called this!)
Genevieve

Sandreline

Coco
Sylvia
Phylida
Kimberly

Claudia
Eloise
Segolene
Camille
Elise

Currently considering Margot for our baby#3 if a girl

No one seems to have suggested Sylvie, which I love.

Love Genevieve! Also like Alexandra and Claudia which are quite French

Rebecca
Samantha
Ophelie
Noemi
Sybil

Noemie, with -ie. Sorry, I misspelled it in my previous post.

We live in a French speaking country. Some names we’ve come across are

Eveline
Claudia/Claudine
Aurelie
Beatrice
Emmeline

I have a Philippa and her name works well her even though it’s not a classic French name. The biggest issue is that her friends think her nickname is Peppa like the pig (it’s actually Pippa). I also have a Vivienne, though here it’s constantly being misspelt as Viviane! Might be something to think about re the spelling?

Félicie or Felicia
Constance
Olympia
Violette

We live in England, but have French family connections who live close to us.

Vivienne is already on my list, but OH is not keen.

Aurelie I feel I should like - I like the 'Au' sound of Aude/Audrey - but it sounds too much like 'aurally' to me 😖

Already have a Beatrice. And a Marianne. Sylvia is pretty but unusable due to an unfortunate acquaintance...

SylviE, sorry - autocorrect.

Can any French people confirm the pronunciation of Eloïse/Heloïse..? Is the former basically Louise with a soft E (as in 'egg') in front of it?

Sylvie is incredibly old fashioned.

Agree on Aurélie.

Héloïse = ELL - O - EEZE

Caroline

Thank you - so it's just an alternative spelling to Eloïse?

What are people's thoughts on Emanuelle? I marginally prefer it for a boy, but this may be my last child, so...

And will anyone in England ever manage/remember the French pronunciation of Genevieve? Which I much prefer to the English.

I like Emanuelle! Very pretty. We also know a little baby girl named Raphaelle which is maybe in a similar vein?

What is the French pronunciation? I’d pronounce it G (soft j) Gen eh veev.

Emanuelle would remind me of the X rated film, but maybe that’s because I’m old?

That's my worry too, Millicent...

I have a nephew Raphael already, it yes, it's v nice both for boys and girls. Not quite so keen on Gabrielle (and have another nephew anyway... v big family!)

The French pronunciation of Genevieve (I think!) is a soft J, first syllable like the French name Jean (for a man) and then 'VI-EV (soft E as in egg). JON-VI-EV: emphasis on first and last syllables, very different to the English name.

Annalise
Alice

The French pronunciation is nice, but you’d/she’d have to explain each time to someone new, new teacher, etc. But probably only once each time.

How about Ottile?