Cendrine is a fairly uncommon name in [name]France[/name], and it is said to be a short form of [name]Cendrillon[/name] ([name]Cinderella[/name]).
In French, it is pronounced sohn-DREEN with a nice little flip of the tongue on the “r”. It sounds adorable in French, but I’m afraid it won’t translate to English very well–people are going to hear [name]Sandrine[/name] or [name]Sandra[/name], neither of which I like at all. For some reason [name]Sandra[/name] reminds me of secretaries and dental hygenists.
It isn’t that Cendrine isn’t lovely, we both like it as a name, but I feel there are so many other options that would sound a little less dated to English ears. He’s stuck on Cendrine for a first name, but I think maybe using it for a middle name would be a little less risky?
Something like [name]Luna[/name] Cendrine, [name]Beatrix[/name] Cendrine, [name]Iris[/name] Cendrine?
If we did go with Cendrine as a first name, what middle name options would give it a more modern flair?
Finally, should I balk at naming my daughter, in essence, [name]Cinderella[/name]?
If you lived in [name]France[/name], or a French speaking region, I would say “Go for it!” because it sounds lovely in French. However, it sounds like you live in an area that speaks English, so I would say no. Cendrine is bound to be butchered into [name]Sandrine[/name]- that’s what I thought when I read it- or constantly in need of repeating and spelling the name out.
Cendrine as a middle name would be a great compramise. I love [name]Beatrix[/name] Cendrine. It’s so pretty!
I don’t think you should balk at naming your daugther [name]Cinderella[/name] unless it really bothers you.
Thanks aj_bear! Actually, soon we’ll be in a bilingual area of [name]Canada[/name] where she’ll grow up. It’s part of the reason why I’m ambivalent–you’re right, I wouldn’t be seriously considering it if we were going to raise her in Oklahoma, for example.
Great recommend aj_bear. [name]Beatrix[/name] Cendrine is so pretty. [name]Beatrix[/name] always reminds me of [name]Beatrix[/name] [name]Potter[/name] and [name]Peter[/name] Rabbit which I loved as a child. It is really cute.
And with the [name]Cinderella[/name] association, I think it isn’t bad at all because the character was nice and had a sweet spirit. She was able to prolong the abuse from her step family. I don’t think a lot of people will even know the association anyway.
Out of [name]Luna[/name] Cendrine and [name]Iris[/name] Cendrine, I like [name]Iris[/name] a lot more.
I think it’s best in the middle, in your case. And no, I wouldn’t balk at the reference at all…but then again I have a tattoo that stems from the world [name]Cinderella[/name] so. Lol
I like [name]Beatrix[/name] Cendrine, and [name]Luna[/name] Cendrine.
[name]Matilda[/name] Cendrine would be lovely too, even Elisabella Cendrine.
I’m Canadian and I think if you love it, go for it. I think Anglos might say, “[name]Sen[/name]-dreen” more than “San-dreen” so if you can live with potentially correcting people, I think you should go for it. Our daughter is [name]Benedikte[/name], pronounced in the germanic manner of actually pronouncing the “e”, so it almost sounds like an “a” to most people. We have to explain it sometimes but usually you say a name before people see it written and I don’t mind because I adore her name. I quite like it and would like to meet a little Cendrine. It’s different!