Ideas for Stylish French Names?
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Ideas for Stylish French Names?
| Thu, 01-13-2005 - 3:03pm |
Hi,
Just wondering what you might suggest for a stylish French name (female)
Things like:
Madeleine
Mirielle
Juliette
What's considered chic? Passe? Any ideas?
TIA!

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Here's a French site listing the most popular names in France.: http://meilleursprenoms.com/stats/top_english.htm
French names I like: Camille, Manon, Oceane, Mathilde, Julie, Laura, Clara & Anaïs.
There are so many French names I love but I've always been hesitant to consider them for a child because they are SO French. I wondered on this board earlier this week if it seems pretentious to use a name the is extremely French...At the same time, almost any name I would use on my American child would've originated somewhere else. It's just that the French names seem to stand out more. For their ethnicity AND their beauty.
If you're really considering using a French name- I'd go all the way!
To me there are levels of French names:
The following, while many of them are pretty, are somewhat "Americanized" to the point that when you hear them, you don't necessarily think French anymore:
Aimee, Jacqueline, Jaimie, Josephine, Jewel, Mallory, Mardi, Madeleine, Elaine, Laverne, Evette, Evonne, Camille, Charlotte, Cheryl, Alaina, Adrienne, Valerie, Celine/Selene, Louise, Lucille, Michelle, Marie, Sydney, Claire, Darlene, Jeannette/Janette, Geraldine, Faye, Denise & many more. As I said, many are lovely, but not terribly French at this point.
Any of the following would also be pretty and a little more brave- Angelique, Annabelle, Annette, Cheri, Monique, Clarice, Dominique, Sharlene, Eloise, Juliette, Marguerite, Bernadette, Lorraine, Simone, Leona, Mirabelle
If you're truly looking for a chic French name and you're bold enough to do it, then I think ANY of the following would be positively adorable on a tot or a lady! One characteristic of many of these, too, is that they have almost a nick-namey feel to them, which while being French would blend well with the current American trend toward sassy nicknames:
Amelie, Alsatia, Adeline, Armelle, Aveline, Avril, Babette, Beatrice (Bebe), Brielle, Brigitte, Brie, Colette, Chanel, Cosette, Calais, Caressa, Chantal, Cecile, Corina, Danae, Dior, Elle, Etienne, Emele, Fifi, Francine (Francie), Fabienne, Giselle, Heloise, Margaux, Minette, Mariette, Maude, Melisande, Jolie, Jules, Joelle, Lacy, Laramie, Sidonie, Lyle' (lil-lay), Sylvie, Suzette (Suzy), Tallys
Also, I caution, and you may already know, that some names people assume are French because of the ending but actually have another origin. Some of these names have been used in France, but if you're looking for true French origin, you may want to double-check on a name website. For example, none of the following are French- Gabrielle (Hebrew), Esme' (Greek), Sabine (Italian), & Helene (Greek).
My personal faves are Josephine, Claire, Adrienne, Annette & Simone from the first two lists.
And my VERY, VERY faves are from the bold list- Amelie, Beatrice, Cosette, Dior, Elle, Giselle, Margaux, Chantal & Minette.
Fun post! Later, Ginger
I'm ttc.
Mommy to Lawson Michael Binghua - born 8/8/06
miscarriage in November 2007 at 7 weeks
miscarriage in April 2008 at 8 weeks
Hugs,
Bridget & Ethan (5)
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