In France there are many completely unique cultural traditions, which may well include the formation of names and the order of naming children in the family. This especially applies to male names, which will be discussed in this article. Modern parents, of course, are deviating from family orders that have been mandatory for several centuries in a row. Many male French names are increasingly being replaced by biblical ones or those with English roots, which do not sound at all French.
However, French names for boys are often used in other countries. But not every parent knows what they mean and whether they are really so popular in France itself. To understand how popular the male name that you suddenly want to give to your baby is, it’s worth learning more about it.
What are they?
Like women's, men's French names have a unique melody and softness of sound. Perhaps, in no other country in the world will you hear such a charming pronunciation of the sound “r”. It is he who carries that special French charm. Despite the fact that the French are considered incredibly passionate, their names often sound soothing: Henri, Louis, Charles. Names in French are pronounced softly, especially if sounds such as “r”, “t”, “k” and others are at the end of the word or follow one another. For example, the traditional French “Godfried” most often sounds like “Godefroy”. And there are many such examples.
Another feature of the use of the name for the French of past centuries is its versatility. This means that both boys and girls were often called the same. An example of this is the names Corentin, Michel and some others.
Origin of French names
Most male French names are derived from biblical ones. Most often, they were modified in accordance with the ideas of ordinary people about the beauty of sound. An example of this is the names Pierre (Peter), Benjamin (Benjamin) and Michel (Mikhail). As can be seen from the above examples, the sounds in them are always softer than in the original version. Often French names in Russian, for example, acquire a harsher and rougher sound, losing their unique charm.
Also in France, borrowing proper names from neighboring cultures has been practiced since ancient times. During the wars of conquest with the participation of this state, new unusual names, which were the names given to newborn boys.
What were sons called in France: family traditions
Very interesting French traditions when naming children, they differ little from the rules adopted by other peoples. As a rule, male French names, the list and meaning of which will be given below, were given according to the following principle:
- the first-born was given the name of his paternal grandfather, and the names of his maternal grandfather and the saint under whose protection the boy was born were added;
- the second son in the family was given the name of his paternal great-grandfather, and the name of his mother's grandmother and the name of the saint were added to it.
These traditions were mandatory until 1966, when parents were legally allowed to choose the last name (saint) for their child. And only in 1993 in France it was officially allowed to choose a child’s first name from among those that parents liked.
Perhaps the reader will have a question about how several names could form a single whole. It's simple - in France almost everything male names were composite. What were they, which of them were used in everyday life, and what did the writing of such names look like? Let's figure this out right now.
Compound names in France
The tradition of giving boys double or triple names developed in France with the advent of Catholicism. Initially, this was done so that the child would be protected by several patron saints at once. Double names became most widespread in past centuries, but even now parents often give their babies traditional male French names consisting of several. An example of this is Jean-Paul, Jean-Claude and Pierre-Marie.
By the way, many modern celebrities (film actors, musicians and artists) have double and triple names. Among them are Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jean-Paul Gaultier and many others.
Writing and pronunciation of compound names
Double names that are written with a hyphen, in everyday life pronounced in full, that is, as written in the documents. It is a completely different matter when a boy is called Antoine Michel Louis or Leonce Maurice Noel. In this case, in everyday life they use one of the names and simply call the children - Antoine (Titi) or Maurice, for example.
Often double or triple names, which are written without a hyphen, allow their owners to change them without paperwork at the registration authorities. For example, a man named Jean Battisto Robert, who was known as Jean from childhood, may tomorrow ask to be called Robert and will henceforth introduce himself only as such.
Meaning of French names
The lion's share of male names in France have Latin or Greek roots and came to the country through the adoption of Christianity. In fact, there are very few native French names. These include only Laurens and Laurentin (who arrived/originally came from Laurentum), Lope (like a wolf) and Remy (sitting on oars, a rower).
Many modern French names, as stated at the very beginning of this article, are derived from foreign ones. At the same time, the similarity of their sound is quite clearly visible. Other than that, they have the same meaning. So that readers can verify this, we present several values:
- Constantin (French) - Constantine (Roman) - constant, constancy, stable.
- Christophe (French) - Cristiano (Port.) - Christian (English) - presented by Christ.
- Leon (French) - Leonardo (Italian) - Leo (Russian) - like a lion.
- Markel (French) - Marcus (Italian) - Martin (German) - warlike.
- Nicolas (French) - Nikolaus (German) - Nikolai (Russian) - victory of humanity.
This list can be continued indefinitely. However, we will not do this, but will try to decide which male names the French themselves consider the most beautiful today.
The most beautiful French names
According to research, the French name Thierry, Christophe, Pierre and Jean among the most beautiful male names. In their opinion, such beautiful French names for boys as Michel (Michel), Alain (Alain) and Philippe (Philip) have no less charm.
In other countries, the following names are considered beautiful, having French roots: Sebastian, Jacques, Claude, Vincent, Francois and Dominique. As a rule, the high popularity of names is ensured by film actors or other famous personalities. It is this indicator that is the main point in classifying them as the most beautiful or simply euphonious names.
What male names are popular in France?
Currently, the process of forming new proper names in France has not been completed. IN recent years It became fashionable to name children by abbreviation and some modification of foreign names. They are also used unchanged. Which ones are the most popular? French names that have been in the top 10 in the last 5 years are most often of British (Kevin, Axel, Jed and Tom), Italian (Enzo and Theo) origin. Very often, young parents call their sons Lucas, Arthur and Hugo. But the most popular name for 4-5 years now has been Nathan.
Researchers also note that modern French people rarely give their babies double and triple names, and also practically do not observe traditions in terms of the order of naming babies in the family. Moreover, some men in France judicial procedure change the name chosen for them by their parents to a more harmonious and modern one.
Be that as it may, many parents in France still prefer traditional names to modern ones and continue to name their sons in honor of grandparents and other relatives.
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Name- a permanent name assigned to a person, an animal, or sometimes a thing, which serves to distinguish them from other similar creatures or things. Most everyday names, by origin, seem to be nicknames, associated with one or another property... ... Literary encyclopedia
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Usually a Frenchman has one or more personal names and a surname. Traditionally, most people receive their names from the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints. Only one of them (usually the first) is used in everyday practice, the others are used only in official documents such as birth, death and marriage certificates. Not to be confused with the compound names of the Catholic tradition: Jean-Claude, Jean-Jacques. Such constructions are one (single and indivisible) name. Under no circumstances will Jean-Claude be called either Jean or Claude.
A separate article is the pronunciation of French names (and surnames) in Russian. Obvious distortions apparently occur due to the fact that the two cultures have been interacting for quite a long period of time and this interaction is (was) of a massive nature.
Yes, that's it French surnames those starting with Le, for example Le Corbusier, Le Pen, etc. in Russian are read as Le Corbusier and Le Pen, while in the original it is read approximately as Le - Le Corbusier, Le Pen (sometimes Le Pan). The same thing happens with the prefix De, as for example in marquise de Pompadour, which in the Russian version sounds like marquise de (de) Pompadour. The French version sounds approximately like de Pompadour or, another example, Honoré de Balzac.
Also included here are individual surnames, the pronunciation of which is very difficult due to the lack of corresponding sounds in the Russian language. For example, famous writer Victor Hugo's name is not Victor Hugo at all, but rather Victor U'go, where u' is a very softened vowel u, which has no correspondence in Russian.
But the most surprising case is the naming in Russian tradition almost all the crowned heads who have ever occupied the French throne. Most likely, their names are displayed in the Latinized version, which inevitably led to their distortion. So, Hugo Capet, in fact U'g Cape, all Henrys are Henri, all Charles are called Charles, and all Louis are Louis. What makes this all especially confusing is the fact that in France, in parallel with the name Louis, the name Louis is common. The names of Napoleon, Philip and Robert are more or less correctly translated.
Most common French names(by number of speakers from 1940 to 2006)
Male names
1 Jean
2 Michel
3 Philippe
4 Alain
5 Patrick
6 Pierre
7 Nicholas
8 Christophe
9 Christian
10 Daniel
11 Bernard
12 Eric
13 Frederic
14 Laurent
15 Stéphane
16 Pascal
17 Sebastien
18 David
19 Gerard
20 Thierry
21 Julien
22 Olivier
23 Jacques
24 Alexandre
25 Thomas
26 Claude
27 Didier
28 François
29 Dominique
30 Vincent
Female names
1 Marie
2 Nathalie
3 Isabelle
4 Sylvie
5 Catherine
6 Françoise
7 Martine
8 Christine
9 Monique
10 Valérie
11 Sandrine
12 Veronique
13 Nicole
14 Stéphanie
15 Sophie
16 Anne
17 Chantal
18 Celine
19 Patricia
20 Brigitte
21 Annie
22 Julie
23 Aurélie
24 Lawrence
25 Christiane
26 Jacqueline
27 Dominique
28 Virginia
29 Michele
30 Corinne
In each language, first and last names have their own etymology, their own origin. And the French language is no exception. In the French language, first and last names were formed historically, originating from some locality or from some clan.
Today we will talk about French names and surnames. To us, as well as to you, dear lovers French, the origin of names and surnames in France is interesting. Let's quickly begin our journey into the world of French names and surnames!
Dictionary of French names and surnames, Larousse publishing house
Friends, before I inform you of the beautiful French men's and female names, before making a list or generator of names of French men and women, pay attention to some details:
- France is very fond of double names (prénom), such as Jean- Marc, Jean-Pierre, Paul-Henri, Anne- Marie, Marie-Louise . Usually these are two names of the same gender, which are written with a hyphen. But there are cases when one name is female and the other is male. For a boy, the male name comes first, then the female name - Jean-Marie , for a girl - vice versa - Anne-Vincent . Do you remember the name of the philosopher Voltaire? — François Marie Arouet Voltaire . It is worth considering that if a person has a double name, then this is exactly what they should be called: Jean-Pierre – this is exactly Jean-Pierre, and not just Jean or Pierre.
- Many female names are formed by adding a suffix to the male name -e ,—ette , or -ine . For example: Jean – Jeanne ; Henri – Henriette; Maurice Mauricine; Honoré Honorine. Sometimes these suffixes affect pronunciation Armand (Arman) - Armande (Armand), and sometimes not Daniel (Daniel)- Danielle (Daniel).
- Diminutive male names are formed by adding the suffix - et, -ot , and women's –ette, -otte .
These were the distinctive features of French names, and now:
A brief history of how surnames appeared in France
In the 16th century, the king ordered all families to acquire surnames ( le nom de famille – family name). The surname could be the name of the head of the family: Martin, Bernard, Thomas, Robert, Richard, Michel, Henri, etc. Or some of his distinctive feature or characteristic: Legrand - big, Lepetit - small, Leroux - red; or place of residence: Dubois - from the forest or one who lives near the forest, Dupont - one who lives next to the bridge or in the town of Le Pont; the main occupation of a person or tool: Fournier - stove maker, Mercier - seller, Beaudelaires - carpenter's cleaver, Hachette - carpenter's adze or mason's pick, Bonnet - hat, cap, cap. Plant names were also used: Castan - from chataîgne - chestnut, Lavigne - vigne - grapes.
The surnames of the nobles came from their estates plus the prefix de : le comte d'Artois - Count d'Artois, le duc d'Orléans - Duke of Orleans.
French first and last name generator
We can say that such a generator is a Russian transcription of French names and surnames. For example, Diane - Diana, Angélique - Angelique, Poline - Polina, Jean - Jean (Ivan), Godefroi - Godefroy, Duroy - Duroy.
Although, for example, it is permissible to say both Daniel and Danielle - Danielle. You can say both Celine and Selina - Céline.
French names and surnames
Now let's get to know women's and men's French names and surnames and their Russian pronunciation.
Male names:
- Jean – Jean (Ivan)
- Michel - Michel (Mikhail)
- Philippe - Philip
- Alain
- Patrick - Patrick
- Pierre - Pierre (Peter)
- Nicolas - Nikola (Nikolai)
- Christophe - Christophe
- Christian
- Daniel – Daniel (Daniil)
- Bernard - Bernard
- Eric - Eric
- Frédéric - Frederic
- Laurent
- Olivier - Olivier
Male French names Female names:
- Marie - Marie (Maria)
- Nathalie - Natalie (Natalya)
- Isabelle - Isabelle
- Françoise - Francoise
- Christine
- Monique
- Nicole - Nicole
- Sophie - Sophie (Sofia)
- Anne – An (Anna)
- Celine - Celine
- Brigitte - Brigitte
- Catherine – Catherine (Ekaterina)
Female French names The most common French surnames.