Hello all,
I am currently beginning a novel about a high-society [name_m]French[/name_m] heroine and her upper class world. Her first name is [name_f]Coralie[/name_f], which I have done a little research on as to mean victorious/noble which I think suits her upper-class origin. I am stuck on a surname, however-- I liked Dechambeau but cannot find a meaning anywhere. I’d like it to be posh and fancy, to suit her family. Thanks so much for the help:D
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] sounds like a great classic heroine name!
Now, regarding her surname … I’ve compiled a list of names that I think are interesting and could be posh and/or inflated to be a posh name that your character and her family can fill for your own creative purposes. I know very little about the names so I included any name that had an interesting history and any names that looked and sounded like they could fit the bill of a posh name. I found nothing of your current pick, Dechambeau, in a quick perusual of ideas, but there are some names below that are similar that you can trace more of a history through that might relate to Dechambeau.
There was nothing incredibly detailed or insightful in a quick online scan, but Behind the Name has a lot of good information in their user-submitted [name_m]French[/name_m] surnames regarding basic histories and what names mean. I have included some of these finds below, as well as a selection of others from other sources.
I suggest researching whatever looks interesting and letting that lead you to your shortlist of picks!
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Arceneaux
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Archeambeau
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Barrineau
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … [name_m]Barthelemy[/name_m]
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Baudelaire
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … [name_m]Beauchamp[/name_m]
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … [name_m]Beauregard[/name_m]
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Beausejour
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Belhumeur
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Bernadotte
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Bethencourt
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Bettencourt
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Billeaud
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … [name_m]Bonaventure[/name_m]
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Bonnemaison
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Bourguignon
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Caderousse
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Challoner
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Chambellan
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Cormier
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Courcelles
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … D’Aurevilly
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … de Clermont
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Fortescue
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Fouquereau
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … [name_m]Gauthier[/name_m]
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Goudeau
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Gougeon
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Hyppolite
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-Baptise
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Laframboise
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Laviolette
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Legrande
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Lombard
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Marseille
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Mercure
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … [name_u]Orange[/name_u]
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Provencher
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Robicheaux
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Robideaux
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Soulouque
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Soverign
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Thibaudeau
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Valencourt
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Vernier
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Vertefeuille
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] … Vigouroux
Good luck researching and picking!
Dechambeau definitely comes from “de beau champ” which means “from the beautiful field”. I am sure of it (I took twelve years of [name_m]French[/name_m], it needs to pay off somewhere :p).
I agree with going to Behind the Name for inspiration. They have a great selection of surnames. I also tend to just google “popular surnames in [insert country]” or look up the names of celebrities from different countries.
I don’t know anything about upper class [name_m]French[/name_m] surnames, but I like the sound of [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] [name_m]Chevalier[/name_m] (“knight”), if that works.
I found [u]this forum [/u]discussing “upper-class”-sounding [name_m]French[/name_m] names, if you want to check it out.
I absolutely love de Clermont or [name_m]Chevalier[/name_m]. Thank you so much for your research for me. 