Hello! I’m expecting a baby next spring and having trouble getting perspective on names. My husband is [name_m]French[/name_m], I am American, and we live in [name_f]France[/name_f]. Finding common ground is a challenge because we have such different experiences with different names, and the same name in each language can have such different connotations.
Generally, we prefer classic, elegant names. I grew up with a really rare name and I loved it, and my husband has a really beautiful old name. It would be nice if our child’s name could also be uncommon and full of history.
Our last name is monosyllabic and starts with P.
Right now, we have only a couple of names we can agree on.
In [name_m]French[/name_m], they are exactly what we are looking for, but I have now idea how they sound in English, or how they would be pronounced!
What do you think?
I think Élise would be ideal OP. [name_m]Minor[/name_m] variation of pronunciation with accent is inevitable but not to the extent there is different stress with this name .
[name_m]Amaury[/name_m] -I apologize I am unaware of how its said ‘en [name_f]France[/name_f].’ Its popular elsewhere but there may be more
variation. We have members who are [name_m]French[/name_m]/US so I am sure they will be more help.
My cousin is [name_f]Capucine[/name_f] (Fr. born and now living in the US) & finds her name problematic. Coffee- etc. I think you have it right.
I agree-- these are both lovely names. I like [name_m]Amaury[/name_m] for historical reasons, but I’d be prepared to have to spell it a lot for most Americans.
For the girl names-- almost any that end in -ette or -ine translate well as do those ending in -ie or -que. Examples-- [name_f]Juliette[/name_f], [name_f]Violette[/name_f], [name_f]Colette[/name_f], [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f], [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], [name_f]Pauline[/name_f], [name_f]Aurelie[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f], [name_f]Natalie[/name_f], [name_u]Dominique[/name_u], [name_f]Veronique[/name_f], etc.
For the boy names-- those ending in -en or with Latin or Biblical roots translate well. Examples-- [name_u]Adrien[/name_u], [name_m]Julien[/name_m], [name_m]Sebastien[/name_m], [name_m]Lucien[/name_m], [name_m]Damien[/name_m], [name_m]Armand[/name_m], [name_m]Leon[/name_m], [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m], [name_m]Daniel[/name_m], Matthieu, [name_m]Marcel[/name_m], [name_m]Philip[/name_m], [name_m]Pierre[/name_m], [name_m]Marc[/name_m], etc.