I have been obsessed over [name]Roman[/name] for the last few days. DH said months ago that he liked it too, but we both thought that it was more usable in English than in French. We are French and English speaking Canadians. Bilingual names are very important to us. DD is [name]Miriam[/name]. I’m not pregnant, just planing.
[name]Roman[/name] means “novel” in French and I have never met a [name]Roman[/name] (either francophone or otherwise). The pronunciation is slightly different in both languages but I can’t quite describe it.
My question for French speakers and/or lovers of French names:
I don’t have any advice regarding the Francophone part of your OP, but I did want to tell you that I absolutely love the name [name]Roman[/name]. I think its really handsome and regal.
I also can’t really help you, but I did want to say that according to the BtN website it is at #228 in [name]France[/name], so obviously it must work in [name]France[/name]. I don’t know though.
I love, love, love [name]Roman[/name]! Like so much that you just made me realise how much i love him and need to put him on my list ASAP. We knew a little [name]Roman[/name] once, but his family moved back to [name]France[/name]. I think it works equally as well in English as in French, and actually I prefer the meaning/pronunciation of the French [name]Roman[/name].
[name]Miriam[/name] & [name]Roman[/name] are perfect together!
We also live in [name]Canada[/name]–my husband and kids are bilingual French/English. I asked my husband about [name]Roman[/name]. He has never met anyone with the name either, francophone or anglophone. He does think it is a little more usable for anglophones, especially if you only like the English pronunciation. I think that is the biggest question for you. If you live in a bilingual environment, can you stand to hear your child’s name pronounced different ways on a daily basis? [name]Do[/name] you like both pronunciations?
I have some personal perspective on this. Two of my kids have names that go easily back and forth from French to English speakers. There are some differences in pronunciation, but they are both clearly understood and still sound good. [name]One[/name] has a name I love, one that fits him to a T…but is massacred by French speakers, including my inlaws. I still love the name, but a lot more when English speakers say it My son goes to French school and has started to ask if he has to pronounce his own name the way his teacher and some of his friends do. It bothers him too.
Anyway, long-winded way to say that you might want to consider what you can live with pronunciation wise. I do like the name [name]Roman[/name] a lot, and the French pronunciation would not bother me. I feel for you–it’s really hard to find a good name that works in both environments.
Yes, the french word for novel is ‘[name]Romain[/name]’. I’m having a hard time figuring out how to explain the pronunciation - the ‘n’ is not pronounced, but you add an ‘eh’ kind of sound at the end. If you know how to pronounce main (hand) in french it is the same.
I just re-read you post and realized you didn’t ask how to pronounce it…oops, so to answer your question, yes, I think it definitely works on a francophone.
French speaking Canadian here! And I also happen to be searching for a good bilingual name for a boy! Most definitely not an easy task.
I love the sound of [name]Miriam[/name] and [name]Roman[/name]! They go great together.
I’ve never heard of a [name]Roman[/name] before, in french or english. I’m not sure how I feel about the french pronunciation but I think it’s a name that would grow on me. I think you should go for it if you both like it!
Canadian Frenchie points at myself I think [name]Roman[/name] sounds good really nice, and rolls off the tongue very well! A name suggestion would be [name]Hugo[/name], because in elementary school I had a French teacher that chose the name because her parents (who are French) could pronounce the name really easily. I think [name]Miriam[/name] is a bit too girly to me on a boy though. But if you and your partner like definitely go for it!
Hello! Another Canadian here, though I’ve spent more time in [name]France[/name] than [name]Quebec[/name] or Acadie. I know a [name]Romain[/name] or two in [name]France[/name], which is the more common spelling for the name there (that version is fairly popular in fact- top 50). [name]Both[/name] [name]Roman[/name] and [name]Romain[/name] are familiar to Francophones as names, though [name]Roman[/name] is definitely seen as the English spelling (at least, that’s how one of the Romains introduced himself to me). I’d much rather be ‘novel’ ([name]Roman[/name]) in French than ‘lettuce’ ([name]Romain[/name]) in English
DH has a family tradition of F names for the first son, so we would probably pick [name]Felix[/name] first and only consider [name]Roman[/name] afterwards. I’d just love to meet a little [name]Roman[/name]. I do love [name]Felix[/name], but its popularity among francophones is a drawback for me.
swirlyo: [name]Miriam[/name] is actually my daughter’s name so I wouldn’t consider it for a son. lol
[name]Just[/name] noticed that [name]Miriam[/name] and [name]Roman[/name] might sound too similar together. Thoughts? I have a thing for M and R sounds. [name]Romy[/name] is also a fave of mine for a girl, but doesn’t sound good with our last name.
Some favorite bilingual names for you all:
[name]Simon[/name] (would use this in a heartbeat as well)
[name]Gabriel[/name] (can’t use)
[name]Dominic[/name] (can’t use)
[name]Xavier[/name] (hearing everywhere)
[name]Olivier[/name] (same)
[name]Benjamin[/name] (too popular)
Thanks for the feedback so far. Would love more opinions on [name]Roman[/name].
Vandychick - I don’t mind when a name is pronounced differently in both languages as long as I like both pronunciations. With [name]Miriam[/name], I usually pronounce her name in French, but say it in English when speaking with Anglophones. My own name is also bilingual which has never bothered me (although I usually go by my nn in English and fn in French). It is important to me that my kid’s names not be butchered by teachers and classmates.
I find it interesting that French and Quebequois people don’t seem to mind using very anglophone names (just look at their stats), but that francophones living in more English parts of the world are very concerned with using a truly bilingual name. This is totally anecdotal.
maple_blythe - you lettuce comment is hilarious! I’ve never met a [name]Romain[/name] either, but much prefer [name]Roman[/name] (both the pronunciation and spelling).
[name]Just[/name] to clarify [name]Romain[/name] and [name]Roman[/name] are pronounced differently in French.
Agree with you missv! [name]Simon[/name] is another fantastic bilingual name!
I also adore the French [name]Benoit[/name] - but this would not serve well if you live in a primarily English community!
also [name]Felix[/name] is fantastic, and also goes great with [name]Miriam[/name]. Curious to know what other girls name you would choose, should you have another daughter instead of a son…
A roman, as you noted, is a novel; a [name]Romain[/name] is a person from rome (and the adjective [name]Roman[/name]). Like romaine lettuce. I never met either and don’t doubt that [name]Roman[/name] is indeed being given as a name in [name]France[/name], but I think the traditional name is [name]Romain[/name].
I definitely wouldn’t pair [name]Roman[/name] with [name]Hugo[/name] because that really reinforces the ‘novel’ everyday word meaning as it immediately conjures up [name]Victor[/name] [name]Hugo[/name].
If you [name]LOVE[/name] the name in English then fine, but if you really are looking for a bicultural name then I don’t think that [name]Roman[/name] is it.
Vivtaliesin and [name]Blade[/name] - thanks for the feedback. [name]Roman[/name] will probably be saved as a mn - plus i’m only planing on having 2 maybe 3 kids.
My favorite girls names at the moment are [name]Delphine[/name] (nn [name]Delphie[/name]) and [name]Emmanuelle[/name] - both French names that I think work well in English, but not truly bilingual. A lot of the bilingual girls names that I like are too popular for my tates : [name]Isabelle[/name], [name]Chloe[/name], [name]Zoe[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name]…
DH and I both also love [name]Claire[/name], but again very popular. With [name]Miriam[/name] we were considering [name]Mireille[/name] but we thought it was too difficult for anglophones.
Ditto on everything, except I’ve never met a [name]Romain[/name] nor a [name]Roman[/name] (French-speaking or otherwise), but I prefer “book” to (very close to) “lettuce” and I also vastly prefer the pronunciation of [name]Roman[/name] in French and English over [name]Romain[/name].
My son goes to French school and has started to ask if he has to pronounce his own name the way his teacher and some of his friends do. It bothers him too.