Hello
everyone. I hope you had a fabulous Valentine ’s Day week and enjoyed some of
the Valentine’s themed post we had on the blog this week. This week, I’m lucky
enough to be on reading week and am definitely enjoying some time at home. For
those who don’t know, I am a quarter French Canadian, and as a result I’ve
always had a soft spot for French names. This week I decided to look at my 5
favorite French names per gender. I’ve only included rankings in countries
where French is an official language. Hope you enjoy! :)
Girls
Claire
Pronunciation:
Kler
Ranking:
23
(Canada) and 183 (France)
Meaning: clear, bright,
famous
My
Thoughts: Claire
is my nana’s name and that is obviously a fabulous association. I love Claire
because of how just plain usable it is. Claire fits into so many styles of
naming. It’s a classic for purists, but is still incredibly popular for trendy
namers. It’s short and spunky, but still very feminine. It’s got a strong
relation to a different language, but it still easy for English only speakers.
It’s a perfect name for someone like me whose style is all over the map.
Emeline
Pronunciation:
Em-ah-leen
or Em-ah-line
Ranking:
192
(France)
Meaning:
work
My
Thoughts:
Right off the bat with this name I feel that I have to address spelling. This
spelling is the original spelling of the name; Emmeline and Emmaline are both Anglicized
versions. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Anglicized versions, but I’ve
frequently had people try to tell me that the Emeline spelling is wrong. Personally,
I prefer Emeline. I think it looks cleaner and spunkier, and the people of
France agree with me. Emeline is 192 in France, but neither Emmeline or
Emmaline rank.
Geneviève
Pronunciation: Zhon-vee-ev
Ranking:
n/a
Meaning:
tribe
woman
My
Thoughts: One
of my favorite things about Geneviève is how much it sounds like the French
word for January (Zhon-vee-ay)! One of my favorite memories from grade school French
was singing the months of the year song, I always loved Janvier, Avril et
Juillet the best. The first time I heard this names French pronunciation was on
a girl at camp and it just seemed so much prettier than the English and made me
completely fall in love with the name.
Margot
Pronunciation:
Mar-go
Ranking:
52
(France) and 66 (Belgium)
Meaning:
pearl
My
Thoughts: I’ve
always loved Margaret, but had never considered Margot (in any spelling) until
reading Paper Towns by John Green. The main female character in Paper Towns is
name Margo Roth Spiegelman and absolutely made me fall in love with the name. I
didn’t know it was French or that it was a diminutive of Margaret until I did
some searching on it earlier this year. If Margot (or the more popular variant,
Margaux) seem a little “too French” for your tastes, I think the Margo
spellings is perfectly lovely.
Véronique
Pronunciation:
Vay-ro-neek
Ranking:
n/a
Meaning:
bringing
victory
My
Thoughts: Between
the summers of grade 9 and 10, I did volunteer work as an assistant councilor at
a local camp. In the second week I worked, there was a Véronique in my group. I’ve
always loathed the name Veronica so was surprised to find myself absolutely
adoring her name. A large part of this adoration came from her nickname: Véro. I
think it’s such a fun, spunky nickname.
Boys
Étienne
Pronunciation:
Ay-tyen
Ranking:
225
(France)
Meaning:
crown
My Thoughts: Étienne is the
French form of Stephen. Stephen is my grandpa’s name and I’ve always thought
about using it, but recently my brother called it. For a while, I considered Étienne,
but it just felt a little too French for a girl who’s not planning on living in
a French speaking area. A great association for me is also the male main
character in the book Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I think
the name is very exotic and cool sounding and would be a super choice for a
brave namer!
Julien
Pronunciation:
Zhoo-lee-on
Ranking:
65
(France) and 66 (Belgium)
Meaning:
downy
bearded
My
Thoughts: I
adore the name Julien for others, but have a hard time seeing myself using it. I
think it’s very sweet sounding, yet still cool and masculine. The French pronunciation
is rarely used/needed where I live, but Julien would be a great choice for
someone in a more bilingual area who wants a name common in both languages.
Olivier
Pronunciation:
Oh-liv-yay
Ranking:
307
(France)
Meaning:
elf
warrior
My
Thoughts: Olivier
is the French (and, with a different pronunciation, Dutch) form of Oliver. I’ve
always wanted to love Oliver, but found it to be lacking something. To me,
Olivier is absolutely perfect. I love the –ay ending and I love the stronger o
sound that Oliver does not have. This name is a little on the adventurous side,
but it’s just so cute.
Henri
Pronunciation:
On-ree
Ranking:
356
(France)
Meaning:
home
ruler
My
Thoughts: Henri
is the French form of Henry, and I must admit I do slightly prefer Henry. That
being said, I think Henri is pretty darn cute too. Although in many parts of
the world, it runs the risk of being seen as a Henry typo/misspelling, it’s
definitely a sweet choice for someone with some French heritage. It’s easy to
pronounce and spell and close enough to the English name to not be seen as “weird”.
Benoit
Pronunciation:
Ben-wah
Ranking:
321
(France)
Meaning:
blessed
My
Thoughts: I’ve
actually heard Benoit more frequently as a surname than as a first name, but
the surname freak in me might love it even more. As a rule, I adore Ben- names
and Benoit is not an exception. I think it would be easy to turn English only
speakers onto this name as it is easy to pronounce, part of the surname trend
and comes with the adorable nickname Ben.
So,
that was my post on French names. I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment with
your favorite French names or some names from your own heritage you love and
see you next Sunday!
- Hayl
