It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The girls’ birth announcements thus far from Paris’ Le Figaro. Remember. these are the families who still own chateaus and have wine labels bearing the family crest. For side by side comparison as to what the rest of France is naming their daughters, please see this chart.
Many of these names are relatively or very rare and chosen in part for that very reason: Cléophée (Greek), Domitille (Latin), Erminie (Germanic), Hedwige (Germanic). The French have some of the same “old is new” trends that we do here in the United States, which are somewhat divisible along class lines. What is chic to one person may feel utterly pretentious to another.
I fantasize about twins Alice and Adele. Any others you see ready for import?
Abigaëlle
Adele
Agathe
Aisceline
Alessandra
Alice
Alix
Amélie
Angélique
Annabel
Anne-Maeva
Apolline
Bertille
Blanche x2
Candice
Capucine
Céleste x2
Charlotte x2
Chloé
Clara
Clarisse
Cléophée
Clothilde
Clotilde x2
Clémentine
Colette Cerise
Constanza
Daphné
Domitille
Eliette
Eléonore x2
Elisa
Elise
Ella
Elsa
Elyssa
Emilie
Emma
Erminie
Espérance
Faustine x2
Gabriella
Gaëtane
Garance
Hedwige-Marie
Hélène x3
Hélie x2
Hermine
Inès x3
Isaure x3
Iseult
Jeanne
Joséphine x4
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Love, love, love this list!!!So nice to see some old friends like Daphne, Alice and Josephine. I’d probably use any of those three in a heartbeat.
I find this list so interesting. I’m the first to admit that I’m not at all up to snuff when it comes to French names. Which is probably why this list intrigues me so much!
It’s given me a lot to look at and names to put on a list to research. I’m particularly interested in Hedwige,Hermine, Helie and Erminie.
Do you think Eliette is just another boy name (Elliot) mangled to fit a girl or is it legitimately a girl name with a different pronunciation?
Eliette – Meg, that’s my question exactly! Elisabeth, any insight?
This one was new to me too!
Eliette turns up early in the 20th century and may go back further. It peaked in France in 1933 with 214 births, which is not a lot. It seems to have a similar etymology to Elliott in that they are both diminutives of Elias/ Elijah/ Eliyahu.
So no, not exactly a recent invention, but one with a small history of use.
A quick google uncovers a French philosopher, a model who married an Austrian opera conductor, and a physical therapist. :-/
I am pretty sure Guenole is masculine
Unless I am wrong.
Garance seems to be getting more and more mainstream. I frequent a French baby name blog and it seems to be on everyone’s list. It is the French word for hawthorn.
Capucine, which I adore, is also very trendy with the mainstream. She is another floral meaning “nasturtium.”
Guenole is mostly masculine. Though there are a *few* female Guenole births recorded, a few Guenolee, and Guenola.
Cool. Guenolee is really pretty. Guenola kind of reminds me of Granola, but it does have a certain charm
I knew a little Domitille when I lived in France years ago. She had a twin named Ostiane.
Ostiane is gorgeous! New to me too.
OOo, Ostiane is awesome! Never heard of that.
Isn’t this fun!!! I wonder if the folks who are naming their little (hopefully) girls are pronouncing it the real way Ka-poo-chin or the unreal way – Cap-U-seen. Interesting, as it’s a type of primate. LOL
You hope these little girls are called “Ka-poo-chin”?
The “real” way in France is Cap-oo-seen. There was a famous French actress who went only by Capucine, and the name is inextricably linked to her.
I love it.
What are you using as a measure for what is real for the pronunciation? Isn’t the standard pronunciation in the country of origin the real way?
Thanks for these French name posts, they’re awesome. I’ve been looking at lots of old Quebec parish registers for genealogical research, and a bunch of these names show up there with some frequency. My great great grandmother was named Domithilde, which is a variant of Domitille. When she moved to the US, she was Matilda. The name appears to have been pretty common in early 1800s rural Quebec. Another nice one is Marie Azilda. I could put together a list for you out of these old records and email it along, if you’re interested.
Yes please Dan! That would be amazing!!!
It would be interesting to compare 19th century Quebec to what was happening in Louisiana. I believe I saw Azilda there.
http://youcantcallitit.com/2009/02/24/mardi-gras-baby-names-from-the-bayou/
i believe eliette is actually hebrew, and means “god has answered” or “jehovah is god.” no relation to elliot, in this sense.
Absolutely LOVE Colette Cerise. Light, sweet, void of preconceptions and unnecessary burdens! Cerise means cherry and is often used in French expressions as to mean “the icing on the cake”; “the cherry on top of the cake”; and etc. Colette just sounds unpretentious and free. I love this name completely. Completely, absolutely. This is the winner! ♥
And…is there a better letter than the letter C??
I think not! 