There are some people who name their child "[name]Soleil[/name]’… For your information, the french think it’s like the weirdest and one of the dumbest names ever. You wouldn’t call your daughter [name]Sun[/name] or [name]Moon[/name] either. It doesn’t work, it is ridiculous. I think those people are dumb, they probably want their daughter’s name to sound elegant or classy… Instead, it sounds childish and stupid to me. That’s what most French people think anyway, so I’m certainly not the only one who feels that way.
[name]Mireille[/name], Fréderique, Océane, [name]Adrienne[/name], [name]Amandine[/name], [name]Clarisse[/name] and [name]Claudine[/name] are all fine. Why would someone name their child [name]Soleil[/name]? Stick to your own language, please. Personally, I [name]LOVE[/name] French names, but they gotta be REALISTIC.
Seriously, stop trying to be so yooneek, what’s wrong with classic names anyway.
I wouldn’t say someone naming their child Soleil is “abusing French names.” You have a right to your opinion, but it’s coming off as rude. The people here in the US who name their children Soleil aren’t thinking about how it’s going to be percieved in France, they’re thinking that they found a pretty name that sounds nice. Parents don’t always research a name before they use it. And even if they did, “sun” isn’t the worst meaning to have. People name thier children Moon and Luna, it’s not a huge deal.
Soleil has been used for years, and so has Moon, River, Pheonix, ect. They’ve managed thorugh life just fine. The fact that you find it stupid and childish doesn’t mean that all should stop using it. And the people who use Soleil aren’t dumb, they liked a name (maybe they knew the meaning, and liked it.) Even if you live and France or speak flunet French, you can’t tell people not to use it, or to stick to their own language.
I find more issue with using Fréderique or Océane in the USA, since the accents over the e’s are sure to not to be percieved well.
I’m sorry if I’m too blunt, but I think that your post came off as rude and a bit childish. Accusing people who name their daughters Soleil of abusing a language is ridiculous.
I wouldn’t say naming your daughter [name]Soleil[/name] is stupid or trying to be unique. I think it’s a beautiful name and if your not in [name]France[/name] I really don’t see the problem. I’d actually like that my name meant “sun”. [name]Tia[/name] is a name commonly used in [name]America[/name] but it means “aunt” in spanish. If I met someone named [name]Sun[/name] I’d think it was cool and really, really pretty!
Well, I do know a girl named [name]Moon[/name] and it’s far from the craziest name I’ve ever heard.
If classic names are your thing, that’s awesome that you know your style, but I don’t think using a word name in another language is stupid. I love [name]Fern[/name], but since it’s such a humble plant am I stupid for not sticking with a flower name? Is someone who uses Naveah dumber than you? Are you better than them cause you prefer [name]Caroline[/name]? Or cause you speak French?
Names are a personal thing and none of us are right or wrong.
You are of course entitled to your opinion, but you could have worded your OP in a much kinder fashion, it comes across as really offensive.
The message you are trying to get across about [name]Soleil[/name] not being a good name choice is lost on me, all I got from your post was your rude attitude.
Sorry to be blunt but I really feel this needed to be said.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I have a certain taste in names and I really dislike others. But if someone decides to name their child a name I don’t care for, I wouldn’t call them “dumb”. “It’s like the wierdest and one of the dumbest names ever”, “it is ridiculous”, “I’m certainly not the only one who feels that way”, and “stick to your own language”- these sentiments seem childish to me. There are many, many names that have been used for eons that are simply words in other languages. [name]One[/name] of the first things listed when you look up a name is the meaning.
Also, your username is iris… so, I’m not sure your argument is very effective.
Amusingly [name]Soleil[/name] is much more familiar to the American ear than the names you listed because of actress [name]Soleil[/name] [name]Moon[/name] Frye who starred in a sitcom called Punky [name]Brewster[/name] back in the '80s. I’ve known since I was a little girl watching the show that her name meant sun. It was just one of the hippy type names that were big in the '60s and '70s. As much as people rag on [name]Frank[/name] Zappa for naming his daughter [name]Moon[/name] Unit it really isn’t out of place with the hippy parents who named their sons and daughters [name]River[/name]. Why didn’t [name]Soleil[/name]'s parents just name her sun? I don’t know.
You do realize that English is really just an odd pidgin language that has a long history of borrowing words, right? This is double for American English. You’re fighting an uphill battle.
My first name and middle name are established French names. My mom’s middle name is an established French name. She studied French intensely in school and dreamed of moving to [name]Quebec[/name]. She ended up in [name]California[/name].
Implying I can’t bestow a French name to a son or daughter of mine, especially if they inherit my very Swedish surname, because someone named their daughter Soleil over 35 years ago (almost ten years before I was born) is elitist and foolish. I see giving a legitimate French name ([name]Benoit[/name], [name]Melisande[/name], etc.) as a loving tribute to my mother and grandmother. I’ve considered [name]Clarisse[/name] as either a first or middle name for a daughter because my great grandmother was a [name]Clara[/name]. My grandmother (my mom’s mother) just died a few months ago and adored her mother [name]Clara[/name].
I’m bemused why Soleil bothers you so much. It’s not like it has ever been popular. As far as I know it’s never popped up on the US top 1000 baby names.
Apologies in advance, [name]Iris[/name], but I have seen some Frenchmen state on various message boards that us Americans shouldn’t use French names especially with a non French surname, and that really bothers me. Especially when some of them turn around and name their sons and daughters stuff like [name]Emma[/name] and [name]Kevin[/name].
[name]Luna[/name] is in the top 100 most popular names for 2011 (edit: it means ‘moon’).
There was a character on the tv series LOST who’s name was in fact [name]Sun[/name], making it a lot more popular lately due to that.
And who could forget [name]Soleil[/name] [name]Moon[/name] Frye, more commonly known for her role as Punky [name]Brewster[/name]?
Everyone has their own opinions about names, and what is right for someone else doesn’t have to be right for you. Perhaps people who use [name]Soleil[/name] aren’t trying to sound obnoxiously French and they just happen to like the way it sounds.
[name]Soleil[/name] is like nails on a chalkboard for me, too. [name]Just[/name]… no.
I don’t think people who use not-French-names-but-think-they’re-French are abusing French (or in any other language), but I do think it shows a level of ignorance about the language (but I don’t think people who use names like this are ignorant themselves. Or stupid. That’s pretty harsh.)
Abusing accents are another thing. [name]Ren[/name]èe does not make sense, and it drives me nuts. Again, I guess it’s ignorance for the language. I’m personally really big in to researching names and learning languages, but not everyone is, and that’s okay. What really bug me might not bother someone else, and might not bother the wearer either. I mean, [name]Soleil[/name]-[name]Moon[/name] Frye did fine, and named her kids [name]Poet[/name] and [name]Jagger[/name], so clearly being named [name]Soleil[/name] didn’t make her suffer enough to go the classic route with her own kids.
To each their own, I guess, but I do know what you mean.
ETA, because I couldn’t let this go: “stick to your own language”? Wowwwww. That’s the “go back to your own country!” of the name world, eh? This comes across as xenophobia, which is a shame. This is kind of offensive, especially since so many people have lived in multiple countries and speak more than just one language.
The French have very different naming traditions and cultural norms so it’s hard to compare to the ones here and since the laws have changed the French are becoming more lax (to a small degree) when it comes to names but it’s still not a naming free for all like it is here. I run a lot of French names by friends and family over there who now think Americans make bizarre choices when naming babies. Soleil would be weird and might get a double take or laughs in private but some people might be perplexed and still like it for it’s uniqueness.
However, I can’t see anyone being offended by it and in all honestly it’s nothing compared to some of the ette “names” and words I see thrown around on Nameberry and other sites. It’s as though people think “ette” = a name when in reality you could be naming your child after an object (Lunette) or the equivalent of trash (Miette). I think people get confused about what the French consider an appropriate name VS pet name which could end up being offensive if used as a real name. I have a friend who did not believe me when I told her there are babies being named Miette, Alouette or Vignette but again, she wasn’t offended she just feels bad for the kids. There are also names like Brielle that the French aren’t even aware of because they’re not French names.
Bottom line: French names should NOT be off limits to anyone but people should be informed and considerate when giving a child a name in another language or from another culture but that rule goes for all cultures. Want to add: you might like to know that Italian names are currently very popular in France as well as some American names so the idea of anyone, even the French, sticking to their own names is ridiculous.
Very often “ethnic” names English speakers choose are not well loved by native speakers in their native land.
[name]Soleil[/name] sounds beautiful and exotic to my ears. But every single French person I know thinks it’s a terrible name, especially for a girl. It’s just too much like a word to them.
And the opposite is also true. I remember a while back someone asked if the word “[name]Princess[/name]” would make a good name because it had a pretty sound and a pretty meaning. I was thinking it might, but only for someone living in another country.
I live in a french speaking city and [name]Marie[/name]-[name]Soleil[/name] is a pretty common name so I’m not sure where you are getting your info from. I agree some people choose names I would never even dream of naming my kids but [name]Soleil[/name] really isn’t one of them.
So, only French words as names offend you? Is it okay for people to be naming their children English words like [name]Honor[/name]? What about flower names? They are classic and popular. There’s [name]Rose[/name], [name]Lily[/name], and um, [name]Iris[/name]! What about [name]Grace[/name]? I don’t understand why you care if people are naming their children [name]Soleil[/name]. Did I miss something? Is [name]Soleil[/name] popular all of a sudden? I am shaking my head at your post and at me for responding to it…
Yeah, but the thing with [name]Marie[/name]-[name]Soleil[/name] is that [name]Marie[/name] in the front makes it a feminine name. I think that’s the biggest reason it’s seen as being unusable and laughable in French is that it doesn’t work with the gender rules (at least, that’s the main reason I don’t think it works).
I’ve known of a couple [name]Marie[/name]-Soleils, too… but never ones from [name]France[/name], but from French-speaking [name]Canada[/name]. I wonder if that’s because of the show?
[name]Marie[/name] is added to most French Catholic girl names and most of these girls that I know just end up dropping the [name]Marie[/name] and go by their second name anyways. I’m not disagreeing that some words probably shouldn’t be names but [name]Soleil[/name] is a poor example. Also, there are many french speaking countries/cities that have there own trends in names so even if [name]Soleil[/name] is a bit off in [name]France[/name] it may not elsewhere. Language is something that evolves over time.