Alizé/Alizée

[Brazie]

Hi all, DHs mum is French, she moved to the UK as a child but has maintained strong links. To tribute this we are giving our children French names. We have a little boy named Louis Timothée Arthur and are now expecting a second baby.

We were set on Camille being our girls name of choice but are currently on holiday in France and have met someone called Alizé/Alizée pronounced Ah-Lee-say. I think I've fallen in love!!

Full name would be Alizé Camille Inès.

Should we stick with Camille or go for Alizé?

I would stick with Camille because of the accent/pronunciation issues with Alizee in the UK. This reminds me of the name Aimee actually, which seems to be pronounced Amy in the UK, but I often read it in the French way, Em-ay. I think she'd get called 'Ali-zee' a lot.

I love both! Alizée is so fresh and pretty. If I'd had a daughter, I'd have loved to use it, but A: my surname is VERY Nordic, and B: DP screwed his face up like an angry camel 😅

I know a 13yo Camille, she was named after Camille Claudel. Her dad is French-Canadian so uses the French pronunciation. She really suits it, it's lovely.

I've been no help whatsoever, I'm sorry 😅

@BeautyGoesToBenidorm , it was worth you posting for the description of the face your DP pulled.

The double e makes it a girl's name. Personally, if she's found to grow up in the UK then I think you should pick a name that's at least familiar to English speakers. So Camille gets my vote.

@KirstenBlest 😂😂 Thank you for the much-needed laugh!

Loving the angry camel face

I think both Alizé and Alizée are very pretty. I tend to prefer the simpler version of names, but with this one I'd probably pick Alizée as it might be more obvious in the UK how it should be pronounced.

Camille of the two. People won’t know how to pronounce Alizee some will probably pronounce It as it’s spelt Ali-zee with a see or zee sound at the end 😳

@BeautyGoesToBenidorm , but you inspired it!

Op, have you considered names that’d be no problem here but are distinctly French like Beatrice and Amelie? Up to you whether to include accent or not.

We have, Amelie is increasingly popular, I know a few little Amelie's and I don't like Beatrice at all (I always think of either beetroot or beetles!).
It's definitely between Alizée and Camille (Alizée currently winning).

Names like Alice, Amélie, Béatrice, Elodie, Jacqueline and even Catherine, Charlotte and Marie sound different in French.
If you need something that is recognisably French then it needs to sound the same.
Names like Anne and Louise work but they don't come across as French.

Much prefer Alize
Alizee will probably help with the pronunciation in the UK

Camilla works better in an English accent than Camille IMO

I love Ines also

FAR too many Amelie/Amelia/Emilia/Emilys.. all perfectly nice but quite dull

So’s Stella 🤷‍♀️

The only thing with Alizeé is as someone said, you’re probably going to get the hard z quite a lot - I’d pronounce it A-liz-ay without any guidance, which I think is wrong? But then loads of names need a little guidance in pronunciation at first

Alizée so pretty!
Will be okay even for supply teachers whereas Camille will be called camilla and cameel.

Agree that Alizée is a wee bit chavvy.

It’s a lot French

My daughter is named Elise. Pronounced
A - leez
after her French cousin.

However we do get people who pronounce it as an S instead of Z

I.e. A - lees. which is annoying.

Downmarket alcoholic drink of my youth.

Yes, I am French, and it is a slightly chavvy French name.

what I mean is Camille and Alizée occupy different social spaces in France, which might matter to the OP and might not, but it's something maybe to be aware of. Louis and Camille is a lot more congruent as a pair of siblings than Louis (definitely on the posh side[ and Alizée (on the less posh side[.

Thank you everyone, we are going to go with Camille Sylvie Inès, Sylvie is similar to MILs name so feels fitting.

That's a lovely choice op. Very nice indeed

But the OP isn’t in France, so it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t have any class ref in the UK