Respondents: 102 (This poll is closed)
I think Valjean is a very cool name! I’m also in CA, and I know how to pronounce it, though I did think it was pronounced ‘jean’ like the pants when I was younger. I really like the [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis reference too- I have Gavroche on my list as a middle name 
Overall, I think people generally would be able to pronounce it, or at least would learn quickly. I think it’s usable and would work with other unique names.
I do know [name_m]French[/name_m] but it wouldn’t occur to me on first glance that this was [name_m]French[/name_m] so I’d say val-jean. I don’t know [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis at all sorry!
Same here - if you tell me it’s [name_m]French[/name_m], I know how to pronounce it. Otherwise, i wouldn’t know immediately which language I’m looking at. I don’t remember [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis well enough to connect it with the name. Very cool find though, like it! I’d say the mispronounciation is not a dramatic one and is easily corrected.
I think the huge popularity of [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis would go in your favour here. I am not American though so I don’t know how many people would understand how to pronounce [name_m]French[/name_m] names.
I only know Valjean from [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis, I haven’t watched it, but I know it’s the name of a character. I’m not from the US, but I agree once you know it’s the [name_m]French[/name_m] [name_u]Jean[/name_u], it’s more obvious
It’s a great name for a little boy in [name_f]France[/name_f], but in the USA it looks like a combo girl name of [name_u]Val[/name_u] & [name_u]Jean[/name_u]. Beleive me, most Americans will pronounce it [name_u]Val[/name_u]-jeen.
I understood the pronunciation once you said it was how the name in [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis was spelled but I didn’t know that’s how that name was written lol I’ve only heard it spoken
I know how to pronounce it, however I know quite a bit of [name_m]French[/name_m], and I am a massive [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis fan. I think that it shouldn’t be too much of a problem if you absolutely love it, because [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis is incredibly popular, and Valjean is one of the most known characters from it.
I don’t think it’s a good boy name in the US.
I’d probably pronounce it like “[name_u]Val[/name_u]-zean” (like a [name_m]French[/name_m] “[name_m]John[/name_m]”, if that makes sense)
I know how to pronounce it. However even knowing the correct pronunciation, and knowing it’s french, if I got a kid in my class I’d be tempted to pronounce it [name_u]Val[/name_u]-jean, until the child or parent specificallytold me how to say it.
I’ve known [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis my entire life and also spoken [name_m]French[/name_m] for the majority of it, so it would never occur to me to pronounce it any other way.
I know how to pronounce Valjean as I am a thespian, who grew up listening to [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis.
I think you will run into a lot of pronounciation issues and teasing/ mean nicknames
I know how to pronounce it only because I have seen [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis. I agree with previous posters, you’d get a lot of [name_u]Val[/name_u]-[name_u]Jean[/name_u], and I think it would be a frustrating name for a boy in the USA. I think it’d be better as a middle name option.
I looooooove [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis (both the book and the musical) and think that it’s so popular worldwide that people either know how to pronounce it off the bat or will recognize it if you say it. I have [name_f]Cosette[/name_f] on my list for a girl
Plus who doesn’t love [name_u]Jean[/name_u] Valjean? Such a great namesake
[name_f]Edit[/name_f]: I’m from [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m] City, and every single person I know would know how to pronounce it (we all love Broadway)
Yes, but I both [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis, AND speak some [name_m]French[/name_m] too, so it’s a no-brainer for me. I’m not sure I the average American would “get” Valjean, though…
Okay, I was curious since it appears I’m the only person on this thread who has not seen/read [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis so I asked some of my friends to see if I’m just weird or what. I asked five of my friends (3 of them took [name_m]French[/name_m] with me for four years in high school) and only two recognized the name from [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis, and only one knew how to say it. It was only a small sample of mostly midwestern girls aged 17-20 but I do think the average American would be stumped.
I can relate to this dilemma! I love the middle name [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Luc[/name_m] for family/personal reasons. The “Jean” part of the name is pronounced the same way as the “jean” in Valjean (and the “Luc” part sounds like “Luke”), but I have no idea how to write it phonetically in a way that someone who didn’t speak [name_m]French[/name_m] would understand, and any non-[name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation of the name sounds really silly and awful. I would still like to use it as a middle name someday, but I know it may present problems and some people will never know how to say it. (I’d be horrified if someone called him “jeen-luck” at his graduation or something!) Jean-Luc is also strongly tied to a well-known fictional character just as yours is, so I can really relate to this.
Anyway, to answer your question, yes I love [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis and I recognize the name immediately as a reference to it. But Valjean is a fantastic character, and I think it would be a very cool name to have. However, it would be a difficult first name to bear in the U.S. I can’t really imagine a mom yelling “hey Valjean, get over here please!” to a three year old in a grocery store. If it were me, I’d probably keep it in the middle name spot. It’s an excellent middle name choice though!