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Original poster

Help French boys name!

188 replies

wildswimmer20 · 09/05/2023 17:22

Pregnant with no. 2, hubbie is French but we live in the UK. 1st child has an unusual Celtic name and this time would like to choose a French name but struggling! Needs to be fairly easy to say/spell in both languages. Wouldn’t probably go for a very traditional French name.

Top choice at the moment is Artus, like the nicknames Art and Artie. Would be pronounced quite differently in French and English, does it sound ok in English?

Other options -
Léon
Sylvain
Mathis / Matisse
Malo

Open to suggestion!

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TellTailTale · 09/05/2023 22:53

We were in the same situation and also had Leon and Mathis on our list.

We also had:

  • Owen
  • Elliot
  • Raphael
  • Marius
  • Axel
  • Gabriel

I'm French and would definitely veto Etienne, please don't!! Remy would be lovely in comparison!

Good luck :) we had a girl in the end, which was way easier!

Marney41 · 09/05/2023 22:56

Gabin, Guillaume

Marney41 · 09/05/2023 22:57

Marceau, Gaston

Waggytail · 09/05/2023 22:59

Guillaume and Sebastian are beautiful names 😍

CharlottenBerg · 09/05/2023 23:04

Louis-Do would be mine.

PurpleChrayne · 09/05/2023 23:07

You can't call an English boy Gaëtan. Come on!

Didier sounds like epididymis.

caringcarer · 09/05/2023 23:09

Claude
Gerard
Alaine

Marney41 · 09/05/2023 23:09

Alexandre

Valhalla17 · 09/05/2023 23:10

Laurent
Maxime

StillWantingADog · 09/05/2023 23:12

Wonderful suggestions above

my personal favourites are
Florian
Fabien
no idea old fashioned they would sound in French though, if at all
(anyone French here that could enlighten me? I may yet get a bonus 3rd son 😂😂)

TellTailTale · 09/05/2023 23:15

NameChange30 · 09/05/2023 22:24

My family is also bilingual English/French.
How about:
Clément (Clem is easy for most English people)
Leo (slightly different pronunciations of Leo / Léo if that bothers you)
Louis (I'm not really a fan of this name but it seems quite popular)
Lucas (again slightly different pronunciations)
Max (I like Maxime but it seems feminine to an English eye so might be easier for English speakers if you spelled it Maxim)
Noah
Paul
Sam / Samuel
Simon

Personally i avoided names with "th" (Ethan, Nathan, Theo) because I don't like the different pronunciations, and as a native English speaker (but fluent in French) I find the French pronunciation too harsh.

Oh and please be aware of the generational associations of names - many of the suggestions made on this thread are names that DH and I would associate with our parents' generation ie not yet back in fashion Grin

Yes to this! Beware of Laurent, Claude, Gérard, Pascal, Alain , Dominique, Guy, Michel, Jacques, Philippe... I couldn't really imagine them on a child 😁

TellTailTale · 09/05/2023 23:18

StillWantingADog · 09/05/2023 23:12

Wonderful suggestions above

my personal favourites are
Florian
Fabien
no idea old fashioned they would sound in French though, if at all
(anyone French here that could enlighten me? I may yet get a bonus 3rd son 😂😂)

Both perfectly acceptable! The ones I know are in their 30s but they would also work for a child, I like them both!

anothername2d · 09/05/2023 23:21

Louis
Gabriel
Sebastien
Hugo
Xavier

sewerrat · 09/05/2023 23:22

Francis,
Paris (like Juliets arranged lover in Romeo and Juliet)
Jacques
claud
martini
pierre
jean Paul
marco
eiffel
christian
karl
sebastian
champagne
dom

iamme21 · 09/05/2023 23:25

Clement

Orders76 · 09/05/2023 23:30

Michèle
Gabriel
Laurent

Acatnamedfox · 09/05/2023 23:34

Remy is sooo unpopular in France, it always fascinates me, it’s contrasting popularity here in the UK.

How about Kylian? A French name (I think) that derives from a Celtic one so compliments your other child ☺️

FangsForTheMemory · 09/05/2023 23:42

Another vote for Fabian. Also Laurent.

Roseau18 · 10/05/2023 08:59

As others have already said, so many of these names are so old fashioned (Alain, Philippe, Serge, Michel, Laurent etc) or just don't exist. In 30+ years of teaching have never had a French pupil called Paris or Eiffel or Champagne or Martini.

You would be better off asking your French in-laws for suggestions and then deciding if they work in Engl8sh.

CharlottenBerg · 10/05/2023 09:23

PurpleChrayne · 09/05/2023 23:07

You can't call an English boy Gaëtan. Come on!

Didier sounds like epididymis.

Didier is the name of a tremendously funny film starring Alain Chabat where he plays a dog (of that name) which has been magically turned into a man, but retains most of the doggy ways he had before. It's a scream when he is taken to a restaurant and finds the food a bit hot.

CharlottenBerg · 10/05/2023 09:27

@TellTailTale "Yes to this! Beware of Laurent, Claude, Gérard, Pascal, Alain , Dominique, Guy, Michel, Jacques, Philippe... I couldn't really imagine them on a child "

I don't see your point - there must be thousands or millions of people across the Francophone world with those names, who must have been children at some point.

Maddy70 · 10/05/2023 09:27

Philip

CharlottenBerg · 10/05/2023 09:29

I adore Fabrice Luchini. How about that?

puttingontheritz · 10/05/2023 12:34

Other options -
Léon is fine
Sylvain - is about 45 and it is not making a comeback. Awful. Has your DH been out of France ages?
Mathis / Matisse - two in every class. So, so popular. But please don't go with a tacky original spelling, yes, I know it's the artist, but this is really to try hard.
Malo I hate it, but it is pretty popular.

As for Artus how French is that? I have never heard it.

I would suggest Maxence, Clovis or Marius.

I could not agree more with the person that said that Laurent, Claude, Gérard, Pascal, Alain , Dominique, Guy, Michel, Jacques, Philippe are now extremely dated.
It's like being called Amanda or Brian, it's fine, but it's dated.

CloudPop · 10/05/2023 12:38

Hugo
Fabrice