I’m two weeks away from giving birth to a baby girl (already have two wild and sweet boys).
My husband and I adore surnames for both genders, and used very masculine surnames as first names for our boys. We also prefer unique names, but nothing outlandish.
The name we’ve picked for our daughter is [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u]. Thoughts? Her nickname will be [name_u]Roux[/name_u] (pronounced Roo). This [name_m]French[/name_m] surname is a lot softer and more feminine then our second choice of [name_u]Remington[/name_u].
We’ve been keeping it a secret, but I’m curious what people will think.
Please be kind, there’s a 99% chance we’re going with [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u]!
I once heard of a woman named [name_u]Porter[/name_u] [name_f]Anne[/name_f] and thought it was darling. [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u] is absolutely a first to my ear, but I get the appeal and love [name_u]Roux[/name_u].
Depending on where you live, spelling might be an issue, but overall I don’t think it’s a bad choice. I prefer it leagues over [name_u]Remington[/name_u], which to me just sounds like it would cause too much grief and teasing potential, especially on a girl.
I think it looks lovely, but I do find it a little hard to work out how you would want it pronounced. I love that you are being unique and out of the box! Also [name_u]Roux[/name_u] is too cute
Thank you for responding! I agree [name_u]Remington[/name_u] has too many teasing possibilities. It’s a brand of a gun, razors/shaving cream, and [name_u]Remy[/name_u] is alcohol! All too harsh for a girl to carry! Plus on paper, it’s too masculine!
Thank you for responding! I agree [name_u]Remington[/name_u] has too many teasing possibilities. It’s a brand of a gun, razors/shaving cream, and [name_u]Remy[/name_u] is alcohol! All too harsh for a girl to carry! Plus on paper, it’s too masculine!
As a [name_m]French[/name_m], I don’t see [name_u]Roux[/name_u] on a girl (it’s a masculine word) but I like Rousse, the feminine form of [name_u]Roux[/name_u]. I think [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u] is an interesting name. I thought of a boy name because of [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Jacques[/name_m] [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u]. However, I could get used to it if I know a little girl named [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u].
I prefer Rousse over [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u], and I prefer [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u] over [name_u]Remington[/name_u], by a mile!
Thank you! Good point! I just assumed people would pronounce it the same way the famous [name_m]French[/name_m] philosopher’s name, [name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_m]Jacque[/name_m] [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u] (Roo-sew). The surname is common like “[name_m]Smith[/name_m]” in [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u], but in [name_f]France[/name_f]. We live in [name_f]Alberta[/name_f], [name_f]Canada[/name_f] (very, very English speaking area, few speak fluent [name_m]French[/name_m]).
Such a good point, thank you. I never considered the masculine/feminine use of words. Online [name_u]Roux[/name_u] is a very dominate girls name. [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u] seems to be unisex in Europe, but mostly masculine in [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u].
Thanks for pointing that out. I’m glad to be considering all of this now.
I like [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u]! While I prefer it over [name_u]Remington[/name_u], I want to add how I find it weird that everyone is so certain that [name_u]Remington[/name_u] is totally male when the only two Remingtons I know are girls! Neither of them were teased to my knowledge (both went by [name_u]Remi[/name_u]/[name_u]Remy[/name_u]) but, as I said, [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u] is lovely and I still much prefer it. [name_u]Roux[/name_u] is also cute, however I think that might cause more pronunciation issues than [name_u]Rousseau[/name_u].
All too harsh for a girl to carry! Plus on paper, it’s too masculine!
All too harsh for a girl to carry! Plus on paper, it’s too masculine!