I’m currently in the process of creating a new set of characters for a short story, with two people from various parts of the world in each section…I’m really struggling to find two French names that I like more than others. I need a boy’s name, and a girl’s name; advice, please? Please let me know your favourites of the list, or if you have a different suggestion, please add!
Boy: [name]Pierre[/name]; [name]Luc[/name]; [name]Blaise[/name] (though I think this one is Latin); [name]Alexis[/name]; [name]Alexandre[/name]; J”r”me; [name]Laurent[/name]; [name]Serge[/name]; [name]Louis[/name]; [name]Nicolas[/name]; S”bastien…
I love [name]Fleur[/name], but I’m not sure if it would sound a little clich”? [name]Anouk[/name] is a unique choice, and [name]Victoire[/name] and [name]Vianne[/name] are both very beautiful and French.
I studied French for a while. On the exam papers, I always looked out for the names! Some of the most common/memorable include Aur”lie and Aur”lia, Am”lie, [name]Camille[/name], [name]Ottilie[/name], [name]Leonie[/name], [name]Isaline[/name], No”mie, [name]Coralie[/name], [name]Sidonie[/name], [name]Lydie[/name], [name]Odette[/name]… There’s also actress Cl”mence [name]Po[/name]”sy, who I think has a gorgeous name. Oh, and my teacher was called [name]Veronique[/name], which is nice. (Think I must like V- names!)
From your boys’ list, I like [name]Pierre[/name], [name]Luc[/name] and J”r”me the best. Others that cropped up fairly frequently in exams were Th”o, C”dric, [name]Romain[/name], [name]Antoine[/name], [name]Jules[/name], [name]Rainier[/name] and [name]Gaspard[/name]. Only one I’m not too keen on is [name]Gaspard[/name] - kind of breathy - although actor [name]Gaspard[/name] Ulliel almost changed my mind.
[name]Nephele[/name] -
With the woman, she is headstrong and ambitious with a quick temper, and hates men looking at her as a “woman” and not a “colleague/employee/employer”
As for the the man, he isn’t much of a high flyer, but is chatty and works well with people, rather weak willed, and instantly friends with just about everyone he meets…
I wouldn’t use [name_f]Eponine[/name_f] because it is so tied in with the character from [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis, I like [name_f]Vianne[/name_f], [name_f]Anouk[/name_f] and [name_f]Juliette[/name_f]. For the boy I would use [name_m]Sebastien[/name_m] or [name_m]Alexandre[/name_m].
I suggest looking through [name_m]French[/name_m] popularity charts (Behind the Name has some) in order to pick a realistic name for the characters age & background. I’m not sure names like Renette or Éponine are used that often in [name_m]French[/name_m]; I remember reading that famous french names like [name_f]Marguerite[/name_f] or [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] or [name_u]Michel[/name_u] are quite dated there.
My favorites from your list are [name_f]Victoire[/name_f] (this has an aristocratic feel), [name_f]Laure[/name_f] or [name_f]Marie[/name_f]-[name_f]Laure[/name_f], [name_m]Louis[/name_m], [name_u]Alexis[/name_u], [name_m]Alexandre[/name_m] and Sébastien.
For your girl I like [name_f]Vianne[/name_f], [name_u]Dominique[/name_u] and [name_f]Anouk[/name_f]
For your boy I like [name_m]Laurent[/name_m], [name_m]Louis[/name_m] or [name_m]Sebastien[/name_m]
Also, I think Renette is actually spelt [name_f]Reinette[/name_f] - It’s the [name_m]French[/name_m] form of [name_f]Regina[/name_f] but it’s pronounced the same way as Renette
