I was trying to hold off on this for a bit, because I didn’t think Nameberry needed a plethora of [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] posts going around at the same time, but I’m struggling to hold back my ardor.
I hadn’t even given [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] a second thought at all until I saw @whatisinaname’s [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] post, and I’ve fallen head over heels in love with [name_m]Benoit[/name_m]! I love him. I love the image of a little American boy who speaks fluent [name_m]French[/name_m] and loves bringing his maman treasures from the garden (and lots and lots of dandelions!), who loves to cuddle up right before bed for storytime with maman or papa, who has curly light hair and twinkling blue eyes and loves carrying his stuffed teddy bear wherever he goes and… [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] just seems perfect. I’ve always liked the nn [name_m]Ben[/name_m] ([name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] was my number 1 name about 6-8 years ago, but my cousin used it for his son, so multiple Benjamins seemed odd, and I never was able to find another [name_m]Ben[/name_m] name I liked), but [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] just seems perfect. I love its meaning, that it’s [name_m]French[/name_m] (my best friend was [name_m]French[/name_m], and I’m almost conversational in [name_m]French[/name_m]; I love the language and the culture, and since my bf was as much of a name nerd as me before she passed, using [name_m]French[/name_m] names on my list is one of my favorite ways to honor her memory), its soft, gentle, kind feeling… I know it’d have pronunciation issues, but I don’t think it’d bother me too much.
My largest concern, at this point, is that I mentioned it to a couple other name nerd friends, and they all came back with [name_m]Ben[/name_m] Wa balls (like, the sex toy). [name_m]How[/name_m] many other people associate [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] with the toy? Because [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] was growing on me so much that I could have seen him replacing one of my tried-and-true favorites on my top 10, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be answering THAT question when I gave his naming story, and I wouldn’t want him to be teased for it, either! Does it make [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] unusable?
If not, does anyone have any brilliant combo ideas? I especially like the idea of a vowel middle name with [name_m]Benoit[/name_m], but I’ve especially been thinking about “E” and “O” names in particular, and something that maintains the European feel of [name_m]Benoit[/name_m]. [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_m]Oscar[/name_m] or [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_u]Emerson[/name_u] are my favorites that I’ve come up with so far, but I’m not sure it’s it. I’ve also thought of [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_m]Ewan[/name_m] or [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] (my great-grandfather’s MN. I’m not too keen on [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] in general, but it seems like a good fit for the type of name I’m looking for–I’m just not sure I could get into [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] enough to commit to it).
I love [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] (and [name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît), it’s on my “should I ever marry a [name_m]French[/name_m] person” list (as is [name_m]Mathieu[/name_m]), and I’m not familiar with the association your friends mentioned, however, apart from pronunciation problems, is using the [name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation, I think I’d expect the little boy to speak [name_m]French[/name_m] or for one of his parents to be from a [name_m]French[/name_m] speaking region; otherwise I personally find a bit sill to insist on a foreign pronunciation (though I don’t like the English one myself).
I do think it makes a wonderful and unexpected middle name though and you wouldn’t have to suffer hearing all the butchered pronunciations.
Still, some middle name ideas that have a European flair:
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Alexander[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Anthony[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Augustin[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Conrad[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Edgar[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Edmund[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Edouard[/name_m] (too [name_m]French[/name_m]?)
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Eduard[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] (or [name_u]Eliott[/name_u], the [name_m]French[/name_m] spelling)
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Emil[/name_m] / [name_m]Emile[/name_m] (I adore the latter)
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Frederic[/name_m] / [name_m]Frederick[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]George[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Gustav[/name_m] / [name_m]Gustave[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Hector[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Hugo[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Julian[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_u]Lionel[/name_u] ([name_u]Lee[/name_u]-o-nel)
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Louis[/name_m] (either Loo-is or [name_u]Lou[/name_u]-ee)
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Lucius[/name_m] (Loo-see-is)
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Magnus[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Maximilian[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Nicolas[/name_m]
[name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît [name_m]Vincent[/name_m]
I like the name [name_m]Beno[/name_m]ît. It was popular in [name_f]France[/name_f] in the 80s, so it might feel a little bit dated for some french people, and timeless for others (that’s my thought).
I like your perception of the name, it gives it some magic vibes!
[name_m]Benoit[/name_m] seems to have a lot of references for you and then I think you should use it. You had a crush, you get to use [name_m]Ben[/name_m], you can honor your french friend. Isn’t it perfect?
I seriously had NO idea what the [name_m]Ben[/name_m] Wa balls were. I had to Google it and I think it’s much more known as geisha balls. Anyways, I don’t think it’s an issue!
For the pronunciation, well… I’m french and my name is very french. I sometimes have to repeat it twice before people get it. If I don’t feel like repeating, I simply use my nickname. But most of the time, people just hear my name and use the correct pronunciation I think it would be the same with [name_m]Benoit[/name_m]!
Also, I know a woman who was thinking about [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] for her little boy when she was pregnant. I have no idea what his name finaly is, sadly, but I know she had 4 daughters: Ysée, Mélus!ne, N@ïa and Vi0lette.
[name_m]Benoit[/name_m] is free from any bad associations for me. The only thing you might run into is people trying to pronounce it Beh-know-it, I really doubt anyone will make the connection with the sex toy… (although your friends did so maybe some people would?).
When opening this thread I was wondering how soon [name_m]Ben[/name_m] wa balls would be mentioned. Are those the metal balls they use to help you do kegels? I don’t want to Google it really and pull up sex toys but yes I am aware of that type of association. Not that it should necessarily stop you, I’m quite pro-unusual name but just thought I’d chime in since OP asked.
My first reaction wasn’t to think of the sex toys, but of [name_u]Chris[/name_u] [name_m]Benoit[/name_m]. If you aren’t familiar with him, he was a former professional wrestler. He violently murdered his wife and little boy, then killed himself. What actually scares me about your description of what the name sounds like is dead-on what he was like: a Canadian, he spoke both English and [name_m]French[/name_m] fluently and by most accounts was a charming, sweet little blonde boy. I’m extremely sorry, but I can’t get past the association. I get why you would find it cute, but this is a huge nope name for me, personally. I get that I’m not you, so I’m sorry for being all negative about this, but I used to watch old wrestling tapes of [name_u]Chris[/name_u] [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] with my dad…he was very popular. It is rather upsetting still. It didn’t even happen all that long ago.
Thank you, everyone! I am much less concerned with the ben wa balls association now! Especially since I say it more like buhn-WAH (although they still do sound similar, it’s not identical). @namergirl - I had heard about [name_u]Chris[/name_u] [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] when I did a bit of research, but I hadn’t looked into it a lot. Does anyone else think of that association? I’ve never been into wrestling so I really have no frame of reference for how severe or negative it is (although the story itself is horrifyingly sad). My first instinct is to say that it’s not a dealbreaker for me, but if a lot of people still associate it with him, that might be another reason that could keep me from [name_m]Benoit[/name_m].
@orchid_lover - maybe? I have heard them referenced but don’t know a ton about them–I was just concerned when my friends brought it up. I did a quick google search and saw them in web pages related to kegels, but more as a precursor to them rather than a way to do them.
Apparently I’m going to be really picky about [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] combos, but so far I’m intrigued by [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_u]Indigo[/name_u] and [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_m]Ignatius[/name_m] (although I’m considering [name_u]Avery[/name_u] [name_m]Ignatius[/name_m] [name_m]Jack[/name_m], too, so I’m not sure I would use it in both places). I’m also sort of thinking about [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_u]Owen[/name_u]…
I don’t think of the sex toy (seeing as I just learned they exist) or the wrestler, although I think someone mentioned it and I might have forgotten. It may have been the reason I haven’t really thought about it for a while, but as you said if it’s not an association everyone knows it might not be too big an issue (the connection I mean, what he did was horrific). I actually thought of a ([name_m]French[/name_m]) chef who presented a show recently and a contestant on another cooking show called [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Benoit[/name_m] (unfortunately he seemed resigned to the fact everyone struggled to say his name and went by JB). Anyway, I’m really liking it, now you’ve brought it to my attention; it’s a very sweet but handsome name and the meaning was one thing that really attracted me to the name. [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] [name_u]Indigo[/name_u] is wonderful, [name_u]Indigo[/name_u] matches [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] sowell, but I might just be excited by a boy [name_u]Indigo[/name_u] haha.
My first association is with [name_u]Chris[/name_u] [name_m]Benoit[/name_m] - he was a very well-known Canadian wrestler who murdered his wife and 7 year old son before hanging himself two days later in 2007. The story is very tragic, and since it’s still fresh in my memory, I don’t think I could choose it. A similar situation would be the name [name_f]Carla[/name_f]/[name_f]Karla[/name_f]. It’s a pretty name, but thanks to [name_f]Karla[/name_f] Homolka, I could never use it.
