So my husband and I are expecting a baby in [name_f]July[/name_f]. He is [name_m]French[/name_m] I am American. I want a name that is good in both languages but is also rare but not too odd. I have a lot of boy names picked out but I am a little stuck on girl names.
My current favorite is Auxanna.
Any opinions?
I think a bit more information on your naming style would be useful.
Are there any names you don’t like, any first letters you can’t use, any endings that sound silly with the surname?
Auxanna is quite out-there so I probably wouldn’t suggest [name_f]Aurelie[/name_f], [name_f]Seraphine[/name_f], [name_f]Juliette[/name_f], etc. based on that, so maybe a few more name would help us make more useful suggestions.
Well, for a boy I like [name_m]Alastair[/name_m], [name_m]Amadeus[/name_m], or [name_m]Gustav[/name_m]. I normally like names that start with vowels or the letter C. Another name I like for a girl is [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] ([name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation [name_f]Ahna[/name_f]-stah-zia). I don’t want a name that is common. I have named all of my pets fun names (like [name_f]Antigone[/name_f], Astarael, [name_f]Nirvana[/name_f], [name_f]Hyacinthe[/name_f]).
Another thing to remember is in [name_m]French[/name_m], the letters U, R, and E are very different. I don’t like names with strong R’s is [name_m]French[/name_m] or a lone U (Auxanne is okay because the “Au” sound is almost the same as the one in English.)
Some that I can think about:
Aceline
[name_f]Alexandrine[/name_f]
[name_f]Alienor[/name_f]
Amorette
[name_f]Bernadette[/name_f]
[name_f]Capucine[/name_f]
[name_f]Celeste[/name_f]/[name_f]Celestine[/name_f]
[name_f]Iseult[/name_f]
[name_f]Leontine[/name_f]
[name_f]Liliane[/name_f]
[name_f]Melisande[/name_f]
[name_f]Mirabelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Odette[/name_f]
[name_f]Pauline[/name_f]
[name_f]Severine[/name_f]
[name_f]Zephyrine[/name_f]
I like [name_f]Celestine[/name_f].
A few I like:
[name_f]Apolline[/name_f]
[name_f]Cerise[/name_f]
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f]
[name_f]Marceline[/name_f]
Mylène
Ombeline
[name_f]Oriane[/name_f]/Auriane
[name_f]Roxane[/name_f]
[name_m]Sol[/name_m]ène
[name_f]Thais[/name_f]
[name_u]Valentine[/name_u]
I’m [name_m]French[/name_m] and my boyfriend is American 
[name_u]Elie[/name_u]
[name_u]Elias[/name_u]
Auren
[name_m]Archibald[/name_m]
[name_m]Ernest[/name_m]
[name_m]Felix[/name_m]
[name_m]Gaspard[/name_m]
[name_m]Oscar[/name_m]
[name_m]Emil[/name_m]
[name_u]Antoine[/name_u]
[name_m]Gabriel[/name_m]
[name_m]Isaac[/name_m]
[name_m]Zacharie[/name_m]
Ezéchiel - [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m]
[name_u]Jude[/name_u]
[name_m]Alistair[/name_m]
[name_m]Caleb[/name_m]
[name_m]Victor[/name_m]
[name_u]Auguste[/name_u]
[name_m]Basile[/name_m]
Swan
[name_u]Milan[/name_u]
[name_u]Owen[/name_u]
[name_m]Leo[/name_m]
[name_m]Liam[/name_m]
[name_m]William[/name_m]
[name_u]Theo[/name_u]
[name_m]Theodore[/name_m]
[name_m]Raphael[/name_m]
[name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m]
[name_m]Nathan[/name_m]
[name_m]Lucas[/name_m]
[name_m]Adam[/name_m]
[name_m]Emrys[/name_m]
[name_f]Rachel[/name_f]
[name_f]Suzanne[/name_f]
Automne - [name_f]Autumn[/name_f]
[name_f]April[/name_f]
[name_f]May[/name_f]
[name_u]Allie[/name_u]
Bohême
[name_f]Aria[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Celeste[/name_f]
[name_f]Hannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Mila[/name_f]
[name_f]Olivia[/name_f]
[name_f]Norah[/name_f]
[name_f]Rose[/name_f]
[name_u]Romy[/name_u]
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]
[name_f]Chloe[/name_f]
[name_f]Zoe[/name_f]
Aubriella
[name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]
[name_f]Arielle[/name_f]
Louve
[name_f]Nina[/name_f]
[name_f]Thea[/name_f]
Hmm…
Aceline
[name_f]Celine[/name_f]
[name_f]Christelle[/name_f]
Adalicia
[name_f]Colette[/name_f]
[name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f]
Éléonore
[name_f]Adalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Josette[/name_f]
[name_f]Manon[/name_f]
[name_f]Adelina[/name_f]
[name_f]Marine[/name_f]
[name_f]Alexandrine[/name_f]
Noémi
[name_f]Odette[/name_f]
Océane
[name_f]Amelie[/name_f]
[name_u]Simone[/name_u]
[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]
[name_f]Anastasie[/name_f]
[name_f]Victoire[/name_f]
It depends on your notion of “unusual” - a name like [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] is pretty unusual in [name_f]France[/name_f], but not in english-speaking countries. it is a name that could work since it doesnt contain any sounds [name_m]French[/name_m] can’t make (like the “th” by example). Well, it depends if you live in [name_f]France[/name_f] or in the US. If you’re based in the US, then I guess that you could be a bit more daring than in [name_f]France[/name_f].
Short names or nick names like [name_u]Sam[/name_u]/[name_u]Sammy[/name_u], [name_m]Tim[/name_m], [name_m]Tom[/name_m], [name_u]Max[/name_u] or [name_m]Joe[/name_m] would work, as well as [name_m]Ian[/name_m]/[name_m]Yann[/name_m] or [name_m]Luke[/name_m]/[name_m]Luc[/name_m], but they’re very classical names.
Btw [name_m]Gustav[/name_m] would be awesome - old fashioned names are successful at the moment in [name_f]France[/name_f], yet [name_m]Gustav/name_m remains pretty unusal.
Is [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] unusual in the states? That could be a good choice too.
Also, do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?
(oop sorry I didn’t notice we were in the [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Girl section!)
[name_f]Ghislaine[/name_f] is one of my favorite [name_m]French[/name_m] names. Some other possibilities:
[name_f]Alisanne[/name_f]
[name_f]Clemence[/name_f]
[name_f]Clothilde[/name_f]
[name_f]Eugenie[/name_f]
[name_f]Odile[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
Pleasance
[name_m]Tallis[/name_m]
[name_f]Tempeste[/name_f]
[name_f]Yseult[/name_f]
Well, I wouldn’t say I want unusual, just rare. For example, my name is [name_f]Cecilie[/name_f] and I have only met one other [name_f]Cecilie[/name_f] in my entire life (though I think it was spelled [name_f]Cecily[/name_f]). I want something like my name, when people hear it they don’t think “crazy made-up name” they think more "oh, I haven’t heard that name very often.
I know Auxanna isn’t very “classical” like my name, but I think it isn’t too out-there
Have you considered [name_f]Coralie[/name_f]? I think it’s a lovely french name that is still very accessible in the US.
To me Auxanna seems like a misspelling of the Russian [name_f]Oksana[/name_f]…I’m probably wrong, though. It was just first came into my mind.
I absolutely adore [name_f]Odelette[/name_f]. It’s on my own list. Other suggestions (sorry for repeats):
Carressa
Miette
[name_f]Chantal[/name_f]
[name_f]Emmanuelle[/name_f]
Bernyce
[name_f]Sandrine[/name_f]
Zuria
[name_f]Tempeste[/name_f]
[name_f]Mireille[/name_f], pronounced Meer-AYE is beautiful [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_m]French[/name_m] names for girls!
Auxanna has a nice sound, but something like [name_f]Roxana[/name_f] would be equally as lovely sounding but a little more common - it fits in more with [name_f]Cecilie[/name_f] in popularity than Auxanna, to my mind anyway. http://sites.rapidus.net/jhuriaux/femmesa.html is a site I can spend hours looking through - some of the names are too daring for me, but might be useable? Good luck!
I have to agree with the previous person who said Auxanna could be mistaken for Oxana as the sound is very similar.
Some ideas…
[name_f]Aurelie[/name_f]
[name_f]Maelle[/name_f]/a
[name_u]Simone[/name_u]
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]
[name_f]Laure[/name_f]/[name_f]Laurel[/name_f]
[name_f]Camila[/name_f]
[name_f]Lisette[/name_f]
Good luck! Anything appeal?
What about [name_f]Aliz[/name_f]ée? I know a half-[name_m]French[/name_m], half-American girl with this name. I’ve always thought it was really beautiful.
[name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] is lovely,
Here are some names that would be familiar to Americans and [name_m]French[/name_m] speakers:
[name_f]Antoinette[/name_f]
[name_f]Cosette[/name_f]
[name_f]Colette[/name_f] and [name_f]Nicolette[/name_f]
[name_f]Amelie[/name_f]
[name_f]Eugenie[/name_f]
Ophélie
Noémie
Noélie
[name_f]Anais[/name_f]
[name_f]Solene[/name_f]
[name_f]Gen[/name_f]ève (I love this one)
[name_f]Marceline[/name_f] (and this one)
[name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Apolline[/name_f]
Séraphine
[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f]
Myriam
Maeline (this is adorable)
Soleya
Azalee/Ozalee