Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve heard that the Jolie-Pitt twins have arrived, and have been named Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.
Our recent Name of the Day post on Etienne suggests that there’s little hope of a revival for most French-flavored boys’ names, at least in the first spot. But how about the girls?
Read on for a discussion of past French names in favor in the US, and some très chic, très français ideas for a nom de fille today.
Vivienne is, of course, likely to re-enter the Top 1000 in the next year or two. But parents have been borrowing inspiration from the ever so fashionable French for generations. These Top 100 monikers al charted between 1880 and 1939:
- Blanche
- Elaine
- Genevieve
- Jacqueline
- Josephine
- Louise
- Lucille
- Marguerite
- Pauline
Most remained in use, and many climbed the charts during the Baby Boom. They were joined by:
- Diane
- Joanne
- Michelle
- Renee
- Suzanne
- Valerie
Modern mamas might wear one of these names, but other French-inspired favorites from 1970 onwards include:
- Danielle
- Denise
- Nicole
- Stephanie
And current classrooms are filled with girls called:
- Claire
- Gabrielle, the given name of Coco Chanel
- Madeline, and the even more deliciously French Madeleine
So what’s next, besides Vivienne? Here are a few to watch:
- Solange, a French shepherdess who became a saint back in the 9th century. Currently unranked in the US. The name derives from the Latin term for “religious,” and some are tempted to break this down to sol - sun - and ange - angel - though that’s etymologically incorrect.
- Chantal, a place name and saint’s surname that gets some lift from her similarity to chant, the French word for song. Plus, this choice is far more subtle than naming your daughter Chanel. While Chantal did not rank in the US Top 1000 last year, Chanel came in at #879. Don’t go there!
- Severine, pronounced say vuh REEN, this name comes from an old Latin family name, Severinus. While Severus might be a bit too Harry Potter for your son, this is an interesting feminization of a rarely heard name. She’s unranked in the US.
- Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris has seen her name rise in popularity in earlier generations. Today she stands at a familiar, but not terribly common #344.
- Celeste, like Genevieve, she’s quite familiar, but reasonably underused at #354.
- Oceane, yup, the French world is not immune to the lure of nature names. We love the sound of this one - o say AHN - but fear she’d have to answer to plain old Ocean. Neither is in the Top 1000 here, but Oceane is big on the other side of the sea, and in Quebec.
- Francoise, the French feminine form of Francis seems like a long shot at first, and indeed she’s not in the US Top 1000. But with the Italian Francesca at #477 and the throwback Frances at #825, it’s an interesting option with the exotic pronunciation frahn SWAHZ. Plus, it literally means “from France.”
- Mireille, the heroine of Pierre Capretz’ French in Action series, she’s taught countless American students to parlez français. While the spelling is tricky, the sound - mee RAY - is appealing and simple. She was unranked as of 2007.
- Anais, a well known option thanks to writer Anais Nin, this variant of Anna is pronounced ah nah EES, thought we’ve met a modern bearer of the name who pared it down to ah NEES, which seems easier to wear. She ranked #906 in 2007.
- Josephine, one of the earlier Gallic imports, she’s back in a big way among the fashionable and today stands at #224. It’s impossible to say her name without thinking of Napoleon.
- Lilou, a white hot French moniker related to Lily and Liliane. Pronounced LEE loo, she’s unranked in the US. We think she’s a bit too flimsy to bestow independently, but could be a fabulous nickname alternative for Lillian.
- Maelys, another current favorite in the Francophone world. It’s a feminization of Mael, a 5th century Breton saint. The sound - MAH eh liss - is tricky in English, and she’s unranked in the US. Maelle - MAH el - is also sometimes heard.
- Eulalie, the French version of Eulalia, yet another saint, has an engaging, spirited feel and offers the nickname Lally. She’s unranked in the US.
- Capucine, actually a botanical choice, referring to the nasturtium. In the US, she’d inevitably be confused for a cup of strong coffee with frothy milk. It’s also doubtful that the sound - kah pu SEEN - would be easily embraced. But it’s an interesting floral-flair option, especially for the middle spot. Capucine is unranked in the US.
- Elodie, one that works in English! The mellifluous Elodie is - what else - a saint’s name, more commonly written as Alodia. She’s unranked in the US, but thanks to the easy nickname option Ellie, wouldn’t be too much for an American girl to wear.
- Sidonie, a name that would almost inevitably be confused with Sidney, is actually based on an old Latin name referring to the city of Sidon, in Phoenicia. Despite her similarity to the two-syllable gender-spanning choice, we think Sidonie could work. She’s unranked in the US.
- Noemie, a French twist on Naomi, strikes us as one of the most appealing possibilities on our list. We’ve also seen Noemi, but the “ie” ending makes this a smidge more distinct than her familiar cousin. Technically, she’s no ay MEE, but we’d favor a toned-down sound for the States - no eh MEE. Noemie is unranked in the US, but Noemi charts at #636.
- Salome, a well-known Biblical bad girl, this moniker is redeemed by the presence of a second Salome in the New Testament. (Salome #2 witnesses the crucifixion.) Plus, her name derives from the Hebrew word shalom, or peace. The sound - sah LO may - is distinctive, interesting, and yes, French. Or at least popular in France. Salome is unranked in the US.
Throughout our list, you’ll note that we’ve declined to use diacritical marks, though we’ve preserved the pronunciations as intended in French, unless otherwise noted. Why? Any maman considering a French appellation for her darling daughter should know that the umlaut, cedilla and other accents are not acknowledged in American English. They won’t appear on her birth certificate or most other identifying documents.
Some names suffer without them - it’s tough to tell if Oceane is French-fried or simply misspelled. Others fare just fine. It’s one more thing to consider when considering these pretty, but perhaps tongue-challenging, appellations.
Filed under: Names for Girls |
Tags: Noemi, Valerie, Madeleine, Madeline, Louise, Blanche, Marguerite, Genevieve, Nicole, Josephine, Elaine, Elodie, Claire, Vivienne, Jacqueline, Lucille, Pauline, Diane, Joanne, Michelle, Renee, Suzanne, Danielle, Denise, Stephanie, Gabrielle, Solange, Chantal, Chanel, Severine, Celeste, Oceane, Francoise, Mireille, Anais, Lilou, Maelys, Maelle, Eulalie, Capucine, Sidonie, Noemie, Salome
*swoon*! As the mother of a Josephine, I applaud this day’s post! I love French names, booth for their generally light sound and the fact that they go with my very Scottish surname (Ancestrally had huge ties to the French church). I adore Capucine and before coffee, I think monkey (which works for me, my kids are monkeys, climbing everything!) and Eulalie. Genevieve is a family name for me but she died badly (whooping cough, aged 2) and I hate the English pronunciation, so it’ll never be used by me. Why do I think there’s a celebrity baby Salome Violetta? Alex Kingston, perhaps (I’m too lazy right now to dig myself)? Blanche is starting to show up in my toying with names and I keep adding and subtracting Marguerite. I love the idea of Daisy as a nickname but can’t decide if I like Marguerite enough. It’s pretty but… I don’t know.
And did you know that Lilou is a blantant rip off from a movie? “The Fifth Element” Milla Jovovich was Leeloo (for short, her full name was “Leeloo Minai Lekarariba-Laminai-Tchai Ekbat De Sebat” according to the subtitles on my DVD copy). I thin it’s a cute sound but as you said, ‘flimsy’ for standalone use.
And just a note, I’m starting to see Maelle and Maelys show up in combos online, as a middle name.
Right you are, Lola! My favorite ER character ever was Elizabeth Corday, and in real life she is Alex Kingston and *does* have a Salome Violetta!
Interesting to hear that Maelys and Maelle are popping up as middle name choices.
I’ve heard the Leeloo connection mentioned but didn’t think much of it - is that *really* behind the rise in France? That’s wild! My French isn’t good enough to navigate any of the baby name sites with any skill, but it looks like you’re right, it does appear to have come out of nowhere after the movie’s release in 1997 … I’m speechless!
BTW, I *adore* Josephine and have a great-grandfather Joseph I’d be happy to honor with the name. But we’ll never have enough children to get that far down our list. I think.
It’s alright, I’m happy she’s as popualr as she is but really don’t want her to reach her previous heights! My Josephine was named for her Great Auntie Josephine , who was named so because her father was a Joseph (well, Józef). Amazingly enough, in a family with 12 Josephs, mine is the only Josephine! And I knew about the name/movie link because it’s one of my top 5 movies of all time. I liked the character (and Gary Oldman’s in it, *Swoon*!) of Leeloo, and thought the sound interesting, cute and yes, nicknamey. But when I started really researching it, I noticed the break in spelling but not sound and filed it away as a possible nickname for something.
Hey, you never know, kid wise where you’ll end up. I never on my wildest dreams thought I’d have another, and yet, there’s an 18 year gap between my boys and their sister. And I don’t think I’m through just yet, either.
I was going to bring you that Leeloo tidbit. Lola acted before I did. Oh well. One of my favorites, Celeste, was on that list. Thanks for including it.
Some interesting ideas on that list that I hadn’t considered . . . Mireille is absolutely beautiful and Maelys and Maelle have that Maren/Carys appeal about them. I think Elodie is stunning and Sidonie kicks Sydney’s behind.
Wow! I absolutely adore French names. I don’t know but the French always seem to come up with the best names. I’m so thrilled with Maelys, Mireille, Anais and Eulalie. They are so stunningly beautiful!!
Great minds, Abby, great minds…
I think Elodie has real possibilities to take off here, and is already fairly popular in England. Noemie, Celeste, and Mireille are gorgeous, as is Sidonie, which is such a beautiful alternative to the ever present Sydney. I’d also like to see Diane and Jacqueline make a comeback.
The only name I don’t see resurrecting is Salome. The image of John the Baptist’s head on a plate looms a little to heavy for me.
Some of these make great alternatives for overused names. I think Elodie is an appealing choice for those in love with Emily, and Mireille could easily replace Marie in the middle name slot. I also love Josephine, Marguerite (yes, a bit old-fashioned), and Noemi (though I do prefer Naomi). Salome strikes me as beautiful and exotic, though I’m afraid a little Salome might be called Salami by her peers!
This is a great site! I’m desperately trying to find a French name for baby girl, with only a few weeks left, so this post was really of interest to me! We live in France now but plan to move back to North America in a couple of years. I’d love a French name for baby girl. Elodie is the best one we’ve come up with that we think works well in both languages but is also distinctly French (and goes well with our very simple, very anglophone last name). Still, it’s been and gone here in France (though seemingly on the rise in Quebec) and still obscure in English-speaking North America. I love the nickname Ellie, and just can’t decide. I thought I’d try posting here for opinions. How French is too French, and how much does it matter whether a name has the “air du temps” in either language? Would little Elodie spend her life saying “no, it’s not Melodie”. Would Noémie always really be Naomi?
By the way, the French right now are going for girls names like Charlotte, Anais, Juliette, Lilou, Manon, Zoe, Inès, Noémie and Clara.
Hi Sherb - glad you found your way here!
Wow - I really love Elodie. If you don’t mind, I’ll do a specific post to get reactions - I’m afraid this thread is too old to get you much in the way of feedback.
And thanks for the intel on the names of the moment in France. I’ll admit, I love Lilou. Except it seems too childish to wear well into adulthood. I’ve heard it is sometimes used as a nickname for Liliane - that seems like a kinder choice for a daughter who might eventually want to be a brain surgeon or an attorney.
All these names are a lot fresher than Michelle, Danielle, Nicole, and so on.
Some other names that I saw on the Top 100 for France (2006) that I liked were Clemence, Amandine, and Anaelle.
Ooh.. I adore French names — they are to die for! I have a mainly French heritage, so quite a few of these names feature in my combos; with Maelys, Maelle, Genevieve (only the French prn, as Lola expressed!); Elodie & Lilou currently showing. I also like Anais, but its my mn, so unusable.
You forgot Anaelle! (ah-NAH-elle), which is one of my all time favorite French girls!
Can I just throw out my name as a thought?
I’ve had debate by real French people over whether or not Janelle is actually French or a Frenchified version of Jane. But either way it has gotten nothing but compliments. And I love all the variant nicknames you can pull out:
Ellie, Nelly, Jane, Jana…