Ideas for Stylish French Names?

Avatar for dinahgreene
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2003
Ideas for Stylish French Names?
14
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!

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-04-2003
Fri, 01-14-2005 - 11:18am

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.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 01-14-2005 - 11:30am

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

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2003
Fri, 01-14-2005 - 11:33am

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

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Fri, 01-14-2005 - 11:54am
My personal favorite is Adele.

Hugs,

Bridget & Ethan (5)

Pages