Planning for future baby

General Name Discussion
1

[name]Hi[/name] there, I am new here, and am planning to be pregnant with my first and likely only this year. I have always been a lover of names and would like to get some opinions from other people.

I live in [name]Canada[/name] and I need a name that will work in both English and French. I have eliminated all names with an A because the last name begins with an A - I am not a fan of the initials AA. The last name is of French Canadian origin and I am of a Jewish background, I won’t be using a hypenated last name but I would prefer a biblical first name so it doesn’t sound too Quebecois, but it is not mandatory.

I have also eliminated H names because the H is silent in French. “[name]Hope[/name]” becomes “Ope” and “[name]Harrison[/name]” becomes “Arrison”. Not a good thing.

This what I had on my list:

[name]Camille[/name], [name]Cedric[/name], [name]Chloe[/name]
[name]Daniel[/name], [name]Delilah[/name], [name]Dexter[/name] (like the [name]Dex[/name] nn but it doesn’t work in French)
[name]Elyse[/name], [name]Emma[/name], [name]Emily[/name]
[name]Felix[/name]
[name]Garrett[/name] (not good in French), [name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Isabel[/name]
[name]Jackson[/name], [name]Jacob[/name], [name]Jonah[/name], [name]Justin[/name], [name]Judah[/name]
[name]Lauren[/name], [name]Lila[/name], [name]Lily[/name] (doesn’t work in French)
[name]Mason[/name], [name]Matthias[/name], [name]Max[/name], [name]Megan[/name], [name]Michelle[/name], [name]Marshall[/name] (French thing again)
[name]Natalie[/name], [name]Noah[/name]
[name]Olivia[/name]
[name]Rosalie[/name]
[name]Sabrina[/name], [name]Samara[/name], [name]Sarah[/name] (bf likes this - he doesn’t like many), [name]Stella[/name]
[name]Tabitha[/name], [name]Tyler[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Xander[/name]
[name]Willow[/name]
[name]Zachary[/name], [name]Zoe[/name], [name]Zara[/name]

what do you think? I like these but some seem stale and tired. Suggestions are welcome. thanks!

3

From your list I like:

[name]Camille[/name] - Pretty. Reminds me of a beautiful camelia flower. [name]Love[/name] nicknames [name]Mila[/name] (MEE-lah) or [name]Millie[/name].
[name]Delilah[/name] - Is overcoming its old negative namesake, I think. I really like the name, but the nickname [name]Lilah[/name]/[name]Lila[/name] is too popular (for me.)
[name]Emma[/name] - It’s been used so much, I couldn’t, myself. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a lovely name. Reminds me of the [name]Austen[/name] novel.
[name]Rosalie[/name] - [name]One[/name] of my favorite names of all time.
[name]Sabrina[/name] - Reminds me of [name]Audrey[/name] Hepburn.
[name]Violet[/name] - sweet. Reminds me of Lemony Snicket’s books.
[name]Willow[/name] - evocative.
[name]Zara[/name] - Beautiful & exotic.

[name]Felix[/name] - Charming.
[name]Judah[/name] - Interesting.
[name]Max[/name] - Cute.

The ones I don’t care for:
[name]Emily[/name], [name]Megan[/name], [name]Michelle[/name], [name]Natalie[/name] & [name]Sarah[/name] - are respectable but… uninteresting. Sorry :frowning:
[name]Chloe[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Stella[/name] & [name]Zoe[/name] - too often used, for me.
[name]Elyse[/name] - prefer the spelling [name]Elise[/name] but still find slightly bland.
[name]Samara[/name] - nice, but like [name]Sabrina[/name] more.

[name]Cedric[/name] - can’t get over immediate mental image of [name]Cedric[/name] the Entertainer.
[name]Jackson[/name], [name]Mason[/name], [name]Xander[/name] - popular/trendy.
[name]Justin[/name], [name]Tyler[/name] & [name]Zachary[/name] - a bit dated.
[name]Jacob[/name], [name]Jonah[/name], [name]Noah[/name] - all perfectly fine names but just don’t spark my interest.

Some suggestions:

[name]Zora[/name] - “dawn” , from “aurora”
[name]Zaria[/name] - (ZAHR-ee-uh), variation of [name]Zara[/name]
[name]Talia[/name] - Hebrew, “heaven’s dew” or “dew from God”
[name]Marcella[/name] - ancient name but would sound well in French
[name]Ivy[/name]
[name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Grace[/name] - classic but not as often used in first-name spot.

[name]James[/name] - still handsome as ever, especially as a first name.
[name]Emmett[/name] - would this sound better than [name]Garrett[/name] in French?
[name]Finn[/name]
[name]Theo[/name] - from Greek root meaning “gift of God”
[name]Thomas[/name] - classic & Biblical
[name]Arlo[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name] - Hebrew, “help”
[name]Simon[/name]

Hearty congratulations on your first little one!

4

[name]Welcome[/name]! I am of French-Canadian background too, so I feel your pain with pronunciation. :slight_smile: I really like [name]Rosalie[/name] and [name]Natalie[/name] for igirls, and [name]Jacob[/name] and [name]Matthias[/name] for boys. I also like [name]Camille[/name]. Good luck, and congratulations!

5

I also searched for names that worked equally well in both French and English. Names I considered were:

[name]Theo[/name]/[name]Theodore[/name] (we went with [name]Theo[/name], a popular francophone pick)
[name]Leo[/name]
[name]Sebastian[/name]/[name]Sebastien[/name]
[name]Lucian[/name]/[name]Lucien[/name]
[name]Nathaniel[/name]
olivier

For girls, from your list I like:

[name]Emily[/name]
[name]Elyse[/name] or [name]Elise[/name]
[name]Isabel[/name]
[name]Natalie[/name]

Good luck!

6

From your list, I like:

[name]Camille[/name]
[name]Cedric[/name]
[name]Dexter[/name]
[name]Elyse[/name]
[name]Felix[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Judah[/name]
[name]Mason[/name]
[name]Natalie[/name]
[name]Rosalie[/name]
[name]Samara[/name]
[name]Stella[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Zachary[/name]

Suggestions:
[name]Selah[/name]
[name]Rachel[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Lucas[/name]
[name]Evan[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name]

7

Thanks very much, some great ideas and feedback :slight_smile: ill keep you updated as things change.