Love ‘Beau’ for a boy but what if he’s not handsome?

[Lincolnlemons]

I’m pregnant with a baby boy and love the name Beau, feels chic without being pretentious. My only worry is that what if DS doesn’t grow up to be conventionally handsome? Feels like a gamble and possibly an opening for bullies when he’s in school? Am I being ridiculous?

@CrumpledBlousehow can you say "it's such a feminine name" then, if you know it translates to "handsome"?

So, if you think it’s English, are you pronouncing it ‘Bew’ to rhyme with ‘blue’? It’s not French for ‘handsome’, it’s the masculine form of the French for ‘beautiful’, as you’d expect. Which can include ‘handsome’, obviously, but can also refer to the weather or anything gendered masculine in French (which, French being French, includes all kinds of things, including the vagina. ‘Il fait beau aujourd’hui’: it’s a lovely day today. ‘Mon vagin est beau’: my vagina is beautiful.)

I think you’re confusing me with another poster.

@CrumpledBlouseyes, I appreciate and know that, but as it's being used as a name for a person...people who know or speak French, will have that association. Maybe I speak for only myself, but that's my association when it's being used as a name for a baby. If it's chosen as a name for a girl - it's misplaced. Certainly the mum I know admitted she'd got mixed up and regretted it, but couldn't change it. Everytime someone asked the name of the baby she replied "She's called Beau...it means beautiful in French!"

When someone had the guts to point out the facts to her she was mortified. This was many, many years ago.

Sorry if I have confused posters, and also sorry for derailing the thread, OP!

When I was a teenager I had a friend whose nickname was Bo. People still use “beau” to mean romantic partner (possibly mainly older people now) so things got a bit confusing for other people when I talked about her. For that reason I wouldn’t use it as a name.

Also there is the association with bow - hair bow, bow tie etc. If I really really liked it I would probably make it a nickname of Robert (- Bob - Bo) but not sure many people are having a little baby Robert in 2025.

If you are into unusual French names have you considered Balonz?

Is every Leila dark haired?
Your Beau will be handsome in your eyes.
I think it’s a lovely name. I considered it for my dog, but the local accent means some people would have pronounced it as Boo, which put me off.

Make his middle name Frankenstein then he has options either way.

“very average looking for a collie” has finished me 😂

I agree!

I pronounce it Bow. I just think it's a poncey, feminine-looking name for a boy. We are not French, we are English, and I'd fully expect a boy named Beau to be teased with "Hi, Beautiful!" I can't get past the fact that it looks short for Beautiful.

Plus, it's often short for the name Beauregard. Just when you think it couldn't get any worse than Beau...yeah, I really hate that name! Also someone I dislike immensely called his son Beau, which was exactly what I'd expect from the pretentious prick!

I imagine a little boy named Beau to be dressed in frilly shirts and to have powdered hair! And to be very delicate. 🤣

Plus it sounds like Bow, which can be a feminine thing. A beau is also a term that women used to use for their male companions, but it was usually used only by women. Another association with the feminine.

Still, if you had a son called Beau, you could have another son and call him Arrow! 🤣🤣 Beau and Arrow, lol!

A beau is also a term that women used to use for their male companions, but it was usually used only by women. Another association with the feminine

This is possibly the most nonsensical comment I've ever read on here. It's like saying women usually refer to their "husbands" and therefore the word husband is feminine.

If people like the Bo sound, I guess they could name a son Bodhi and then use Bo as a nickname. Anything's better than Beau. It just LOOKS so feminine.

That's not a logical comment. The equivalent would be if it was mainly women who use the word husband, which isn't correct, since men use that word as much as women do.

My point is that to me, "Beau" has a lot of associations with the feminine. JMO.

FWIW, I do think that Bo sounds cool. The spelling Beau bothers me; it just looks so much like it's short for Beautiful. I'd choose Bodhi and call him Bo if I wanted that sound.

But again, JMO.

Hahaha, is it really? Suits her much better 😂

That's not a logical comment.
It was a logical comment, @Horsie .
Look it up.

The equivalent would be if it was mainly women who use the word husband, which isn't correct, since men use that word as much as women do.
Not true.

It’s an awful name. Don’t do it!

Poor sod. Body odour will follow him wherever he goes …

Another idea: You could choose Bowen, with the nickname Bow or Bo, to get the same sound without the spelling looking as if his full name is Beautiful.

Bowen is pretty awful too. It's 'son of Owen' and he'll be Bo or Bow.

Well that’s a polite way of putting it …..😂

Except everyone would assume you're a hammer or a fan of the Dyers 🙈 (or both😂)

Ahh don’t be churlish CurlewKate language is fluid and ever changing , that’s the beauty of it ! I called my girl Beau… I studied French in school and university but my girl simply wasn’t a Belle . In the 19th century a woman would often be described as handsome . “Jolie Laide” uncharacteristically good looking .. but these are semantics it’s just a great name! 🥰