Pixar chose this name for the long-tailed hero of 2007′s hit Ratatouille. But there’s more to him than a passion for fine cheeses.
Thanks to Lola for suggesting the impeccably French Rémy as Name of the Day.
You’ve probably heard of Clovis, the king who united the Franks, founded the Merovingian dynasty and converted to Christianity. Remigius was the priest who baptized Clovis. Actually, he was the Bishop of Reims. Both Remigius and Clovis’ Christian wife, Clotilda, were eventually recognized as saints.
Remy or Remi is the vernacular French version of the Latin Remigius, a Roman family name translating to oarsman. Two additional French saints wore the name in the next two centuries.
Some connect Remy to Remus; while there’s no etymological link, there may be a historical one. The city of Reims – where Clovis converted and kings of France were traditionally crowned – took its name from the Remi, an ancient tribe. The Remi, in turn, traced their roots to Remus, one of the mythical co-founders of Rome.
You’ll find more than two dozen Saint-Remys on the modern French map, and the personal name has remained in use, too. But it’s not common, and a quirky list of bearers emerges:
- Back in the 1500s, Nicholas Remy promoted himself from magistrate to witch hunter, becoming one of the most zealous – and notorious – experts on the subject.
- Remy Martin was a winemaker who switched to cognac back in 1724 and has been going strong ever since.
- Bestseller turned blockbuster The Da Vinci Code included a Remy. He drinks poisoned cognac, brand unspecified.
- Remy Buxaplenty appears in the Nickelodeon cartoon The Fairly OddParents.
- Remy Etienne LeBeau is the given name of X-Men comic book hero Gambit.
- Suriname’s Remy Bonjasky is a professional kickboxer. Just mention “The Flying Gentleman” if someone suggests that Remy sounds like a girl’s name.
Trouble is that Remy could catch on as a girl’s name. Protest all you like, but Shirley, Ashley and Avery have paved the way. Factor in a charismatic female rapper called Remy Ma, and some will perceive this masculine moniker as tinged pink. You might inform them that Remy Ma was born with the unusual appellation Reminisce.
Still, rap could be the undoing of Remy. Dr. Dre, Eminem and Ja Rule are all fans of the cognac, and mention it in their work. It’s not quite the same as calling your daughter Champagne, but it could make your boy the life of the frat party.
RAY mee may be the more authentic pronunciation. Post-Pixar, REH mee is heard more often. Since he’s never cracked the Top 1000 in the US, you should be able to convince others to adopt your preferred sound.
Overall, Remy remains an interesting option for the daring parent. True, there’s a chance your son will share his name with a female classmate, but that’s happening to Ryan and Dylan, too. He’s got plenty of history, a lot of dash and a built-in movie hero, too.
I LOVE Remy, no matter how he’s said and since I’m on a short name kick again, he’s definitely fitting the bill for me. (And let’s face it, Remy MacKenzie sounds pretty darn awesome) Remy Edward Xavier, in fact.
He likes Remy becauseof the “superhero” Gambit. I like him because he fits with my boys quite nicely but still sounds smashing with my daughter! And if I’ve already got Cosmo on the list (one FairlyOddparent name) why not Remy too? At least he’s a real overboard sort of He-man. (yeah, I watch the cartoon, don’t care, it won’t be around forever) Now, Otto, that’s been runed forever!
I’ll do my part to keep him a boys name, but honestly, Once I use something, I don’t care if it goes to the girls. Like my friend Kelly’s mom, “It just is him. Who cares about the rest of them”? Of course, his brothers are Stacy, Morgan & Shannon! And if Remy’s anything like Leo, he will be the life of the Frat party anyway. *sigh* I love my guys but wow are they making me gray fast.
I really dig Remy and don’t care if people say reh-MEE or REH-mee. Me, I fall into the English camp with REH-mee. But could at least get Reh-MEE once in awhile. But I’m verbally lazy *and* a Yank. I don’t expect any more than REH-mee, really. At least not in my neighborhood. And I have to admit, I love that little rat, he’s my favorite of the Pixar creations to date.
Remy certainly is interesting; though I find myself a little ambivalent about it. I don’t dislike it, but I wont be a champion of it either. It brings to mind a couple associations including ‘Remington’ which is a brand of aftershave and also a manufacturer of firearms. And, if you will entertain another reference to British comedy, the other phonetic association I get is ‘Remoulade’ (a popular French condiment) which was is satirically compared with a performance enhancing drug in a Monty Python sketch ‘Men’s being eaten by a crocodile contest’. Good for the French Chef, but not for any child of mine.
There’s a female Dr. Remy Hadley on House, but she usually goes by Thirteen. Don’t think that taints the name too much; the Ratatouille association is probably stronger for most people.
I like him masculine, but (please, please don’t hurt me, guys) wouldn’t mind Remy going to the girls, personally. There are a select few traditionally masculine names that I think really do sound better on girls; Shirley and Bailey, for instance. It’s better than the obviously masculine Madison/Addison/Emerson, and I’d much rather meet a little girl named Remy than another Isabella, but that’s just me. I still prefer him on a boy, though; I think he sounds quite dashing in a way.
I like Remy! He’s more masuline than Avery, Ashley, et all in my opinion, and the fact that Remy from the blockbuster Ratatoille is a male probably boosts its image as male name.
I prn it REMM-ee rather than the French prn of rem-EE.
Here’s hope that dashing Remy will remain mostly in the boys’ camp.
I know a brand new baby girl named Remy. She’s a dolly but I would have preferred Romy for her. I still think Remy is a great name….for boys!
My husband and I picked the name Remy for our now 18 month old well before he was born. In fact, it was our preferred male name even prior to pregnancy. Interestingly, we picked it as shorthand for Remarkable, but went with just Remy on the birth certificate. We didn’t consider Remington, nor were we aware of the cute Pixar rat character. Also, knowing this to be a more common name for boys in France, it hadn’t occurred to us that this would be adopted for the girls, but stranger things have happened. We love the name and it seems masculine to us and just perfect for our little guy.
We’re having a boy soon and started looking for names a few months ago. I realized that there are far more girls names, especially cute ones than there are good boy names. I’m tired of seeing the -Ayden sounding names and dislike the whole trendy twilight names Jacob, Jasper, Edward thing. So I came upon Remy and love that it’s a non trendy name, it’s easy to spell and pronounce and that it’s masculine, or so I thought. In doing research I found in France it’s not used as a girl name however here in the U.S it’s being used as such. Apparently its so masculine over there it’s like calling your girl Henri or Pierre, names that one would never find on a girl on this side of the world. As much as I like Remy I’m thinking twice about using it for my soon to be born son because of the unisex name possibility… Parents of girls have so much to choose from, why fish from the male side of the name pool?
I really really REALLY want to love this name! I’m a fan of Remy LeBeau/Gambit and love the look and sound. The only problem: my least favorite high school teacher was a Mr. Remme, pronounced REH-mee. The first few times I heard the name I didn’t make the connection, but I do now and fear I always will. I hate it when an awesome name is ruined by an association, whether personal or public. Sigh.
I really like this name. Simple but memorable, and not overly popular or trendy. My wife thinks of the X-Men (she’s a big fan) and is partial to Logan (aka Wolverine) for much the same reason. Me, I just think Rémy is a fabulous-sounding, and very masculine, name. Why it would hold appeal as a girl name escapes me — it would be like naming a girl Pierre.
To clarify for a few previous posters, the French pronunciation is RAY-mee, with the accent on the first syllable. The accent on the “e” gives it a long “a” sound.
It had never occured to me that a girl could be named remy. until i read a book were the heroine’s name is remy. this book is over 20 years old so someone thought this name was a good idea for girls a long time ago. now i want to name my girl remy too.
I have a friend who adopted twin boys one named Remy, I met a 6 yr old black Standard Poodle named Remy last weekend. He’s soon to be put up for adoption and I want him. The day I met Remy I did a “quantum physics” leap and willed to meet the poodle. My fish monger at Whole Foods had a dog named Remy and my niece has a girlfriend named Remy. I love this name!