She was worn famously by an ill-fated queen. Could this fussy français appellation wear well on a modern girl?
Thanks to Lauren for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Antoinette.
History knows her as Marie Antoinette, but the queen who lost her head was born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna. Her mom was Austrian Archduchess Maria Theresa, whose sixteen pregnancies didn’t much interfere with her forty-year reign. All ten of her daughters wore a compound name just like mom: Maria Elisabeth, Carolina, Johanna, Josepha, Christina, and Anna. (Some of the names repeated after a child died young.)
And then there’s Marie Antoinette, her fifteenth child and youngest daughter, who married the heir to the French throne at the tender age of fourteen. There had been a few noble bearers of the name earlier, but without her, the name might be little more than an obscure diminutive for the international Anthony.
Marie Antoinette’s marriage to the future King Louis XVI was a long-planned dynastic match. France was beset with any number of ills before the young Louis ascended the throne – wars, debt, a series of poor harvests. The queen was a subject of much public scorn, but most historians suggest she wasn’t nearly the villain we sometimes imagine.
She’s been an irresistible subject for writers and filmmakers. Alexandre Dumas, pére penned a series of historical novels featuring the queen, beginning with Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge in 1845. Biopics ranged from 1938’s starring Norma Shearer to 2006’s with Kirsten Dunst.
The name caught on in the early 1900s in the US and France. Maybe it was because of Antoinette de Mérode, the Brussels-born Princess of Monaco who put Monte Carlo on the map in the nineteenth century.
But it might have been Scott Joplin’s spritely 1906 “Antoinette,” a ragtime piece that’s mostly forgotten today, that boosted the name. Plenty of his compositions bore feminine names: Eugenia, Leola, Cleopha, Bethena.
While solid, clunky names topped the charts in the 1910s – Mildred occupied the Top Ten, and Gertrude and Ethel weren’t far behind – Josephine, Lucille, Marguerite, Blanche, and Genevieve were also in the Top 100. Antoinette peaked at #169 in 1917. Antoinette was equally popular in France into the 1920s.
Oscar-nominated actress Andrea Leeds was born an Antoinette in 1914, but changed it in Hollywood; Antoinette Perry was a stage star in the early 1900s, but we remember her only as Tony – after the awards that bear her name.
Anthony has been in the US Top 100 since before 1900, and in recent years has reached the Top Ten, so it’s no surprise that feminine forms caught on. But Antoinette is far from the only option:
- There’s the literary Antonia;
- The Italianate Antonina and Antonella;
- The nickname Toni.
Antonia and Antonella seem especially stylish circa 2011, but none of the feminine forms of Anthony currently rank in the US Top 1000. Antoinette last appeared in 2000.
Today, Antoinette seems out of step. But with the arrival of Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, French names for girls got a real boost. It’s not a stretch to think that parents might reconsider the frilly, regal Antoinette.
Have to say that Antoinette is prettier than Antonia, which would get mispronounced around her as an-TON-yah, not an-to-NEE-ah. I really hate Toni and Tonia as nicknames. Annie or Netta would be my suggestions.
Should clarify…would be mispronounced as ann-TONE-yuh or ann-TAWN-yuh.
It’s ok but fussy in the same way I find diminutive Juliet/Juliette.
My grandmother told me that a friend of hers refused to use Antoinette, ever, and instead went by Tonie exclusively. This was until someone remarked (who obviously found out her real name) that she was envious of such a fantastic name and it was going to waste with her using Tonie. So, she started using her full name much later in life.
Similar situation with my G-grandmother, Sal. She never went by Sarah. Ever. She entered a nursing home, a nurse or aide made a comment about how lovely Sarah was (and what it meant) and my g-grandmother promptly dumped Sal at 84 or thereabouts. Never used it again.
Now that’s a great pair of stories. The only Antoinette I know goes by Tee, but she told me it was a childhood nickname that just stuck.
Antoinette is so striking. I adore it! But, I must say my favorite variant is Antonia – that one always gets me. The perfect mix of subtle femininity and strength, right? Antonie, too, is elegant.
I agree – Antonia is lovely. I’m a sucker for Antonella.
Antoinette sounds really awkward to me – not as bad as Pierrette or Hubertine, mind you, but not great. Antoine seems to be fairly popular in some African-American communities and I wonder if Antoinette would have a similar appeal. Antonia sounds much nicer to my ears, not least because Antonia’s Line is one of my favourite movies of all time. 🙂 As -ette names go, the only ones I really like are Juliette and Nanette, which is a diminutive form of Anne.
I think you’re right. I grew up down the street from an African-American family whose 3 children were Asia (prn like the continent), Anton, and Antonette.
I personally prefer Antonia b/c of the Willa Cather association.
I know an almost 3-year-old named Antoinette who goes by Nettie. Annie’s another NN possibility. I also went to college with an Antoinette who IIRC went by Toi (twa not toy). She used to hang out with a Francoise (nn Zee, because people used to want to call her Francois and drop the S in her name.)
Antoinette’s not my style, but I love the shorter Annette.
Nettie is a great nickname. I like it far more than Toni/Tonie.
I really like it, more than I thought I would, actually! I think I prefer Antonia (Willa Cather association), but I could see a little girl answering to Antoinette easily. And if she wanted to make it more “down home” she could always go by Annie, Toni, Etta, etc. Oh and there’s Antonella! So lovely.
I love Antoinette, I just don’t think I could use it. It seems to be a bit much for everyday use. Plus, I really don’t like nicknames for girls that sound like boys names (Toni/y) BUT I do love the idea of Etta as a nickname, thats really cute 🙂
I went to school with a girl named Antoinette. She couldn’t go by Tony because she had a brother named Anthony. They were named after the father. They also had another brother and sister name Christopher and Christine after the fathers middle name. My friend went by Etta instead.
Well, it’s not George, Jr., George III, George IV …
I know a French woman (early 30s) named Sophie Marie-Antoinette. Marie-Antoinette was her maternal grandmother’s name. I think the combination of Sophie and Marie-Antoinette makes for a grand name! But I don’t really care for Antoinette (or Toni, as a cousin was called) as a first name.
Antionette was what Josephine would have been had he won the naming battle. 🙂 Antionette was the name of his first grade teacher and he LOVED her. (We went to her funeral several years ago and her sister recognised him from her descriptions of him!)
I argued for Antonina, I like the frill there more. But it was Antionette or nothing. So Josephine she is. The spelling of Antionette seems off to me; I’m always checking to make sure I’ve spelled it right!
But she does hold a sweet spot in our hearts as the darling teacher who took him under her wing when he was 6. Maybe Simon will use it in the next few years now that he’s married, he knows all about Pop’s teacher! 🙂