Names in French for women. French surnames - ailleurs

In France, the appearance of surnames has been recorded since the 12th century. Places of birth, professions, and nicknames were used to form them. Aristocrats used the preposition de before the surname. By royal decree in 1539, the presence of nicknames became mandatory for everyone. The name and surname of the newborn was now carefully recorded in parish books. It was forbidden to change the personal name of the family by royal decree. What are French surnames? The list, interesting facts and history are given below.

Etymology of French surnames

Many French surnames (the list of them is very long, we will give only a couple of them) came from male names: Michel, Simon, Robert. In very rare cases, from women: Blanche, Rose, Berthe.

Surnames from the name of the area where the person was born are very common: Lenormand (Norman), Parisy (from the word Paris - Paris), Lyonnais (Lyonets)
According to the location of the house: Dupont (pont - bridge), Dubois (bois - forest), Fontaine (fountain). From the names of professions: Peugeot (tar seller), Mitterand (grain hanger), Boucher (butcher). From nicknames: Leroux (red), Bonnet (cap), Mauduit (ill-mannered). As you can see, many beautiful French surnames, the list of which we have given above, do not mean such beautiful concepts at all.

Forms of French surnames

Medieval French surnames, the list of which is very extensive, had a feminine and a masculine gender. But modern nicknames have a single form for men and women. That is why the French surnames of girls and men are the same.

By the constituent parts of a French surname, you can find out where a person was born. Nicknames beginning with Le- (La-, Les-), as well as De-, Du-, Del-, Dela-, Des-, are characteristic of Normandy and Northern France. The suffix -ot indicates that the person is from Burgundy or Lorraine. The suffixes -eau, -uc, -ic indicate that the person was born in Western France.

Interestingly, two forms could form from one surname, which reflects the difference in the language of the northern regions of France - langue d'oïl, from the Provencal language - langue d'oc. The northern surnames Bois, Chaussée, Roy correspond to the southern Bosc, Caussade, Rey.

The “toponymic” shell of a surname does not always indicate where a person was born. Charles de Gaulle was very proud that his nickname was consonant with the ancient name of France - la Gaule. From childhood he was sure that he had to do great things for France. But Goll's surname is Flemish, and in Flemish it sounds Van de Walle, which means "living near the fortress wall."

Surname change

According to the royal decree of 1539, the surname was to be inherited. The child was required to bear the father's family nickname. The mother's surname was assigned to the baby only if the father was not known.

There is still a possibility. As a rule, its cause is the obscenity of the nickname. In the Middle Ages, the surname could have a completely different meaning. Today in France, parents themselves decide whether a child will have a father's or mother's nickname.

There is also a very curious case of a change of surname during the French Revolution. In the dock was a certain de Saint-Cyr, de Saint-Syr. When asked by the chairman about his last name, he replied that he was de Saint-Cyr. “We no longer have nobility,” objected the chairman. The particle "de" was typical for aristocratic surnames. “Then I'm just Saint-Cyr,” the defendant was not taken aback. “We have no more saints,” continued the chairman. "Then I'm just a Sir," the defendant retorted. “There is no more king and royal titles,” the chairman did not let up. The defendant turned out to be an extremely witty man. He said that he could not be judged, since he did not have a surname. The court found him not guilty and ordered him to choose a Republican name.

Data

Like all concepts in French, surnames have a fixed accent at the end of a word. In modern France, there are 250,000 surnames. The most common surname is Martin. The most significant, carrying a social load, are 2 surnames - Dupont and Duchateau. Dupont (pont - bridge) - a widespread nickname, is a symbol of the average Frenchman. Duchateau (chateau - castle) - a surname symbolizing a wealthy Frenchman. A distinctive feature of French surnames is that when referring to a girl they add mademoiselle, to a married woman or widow madame, and to a man - monsieur. This is the only thing that distinguishes male and female French surnames, the list of which we have already given.

Transliteration of French surnames

Today, the correct transmission of surnames requires unification, since many translators transliterate them illiterately. As a result, the same character in different translations has several spellings of his name. French surnames are transliterated into Russian in accordance with But the problem is that not all sounds of French are available in Russian. Therefore, such combinations of letters as -ain, -aim, -an, -am, -on, -un, -in, etc., that is, all nasal sounds, acquire the sound “n” in Russian transliteration: -en, - en, -an, -an, -on, -en, -en. The sounds [ǝ] and [œ], reminiscent of the sound ё in the word "dead", are transmitted into Russian as "e" at the beginning or middle of the word. At the end of the word there can be a double spelling: Villedieu - Vildieu, Montesquieu - Montesquieu.

In order not to offend people's feelings, it is important to pronounce French surnames correctly. A list in Russian would be a very good idea, but so far there is no single list.

French names are beautiful and original, they have their own complex but interesting history. Among them are especially popular, containing fashionable options today, as well as the names of saints. The latter are not only attractive, but are also talismans that protect their owner throughout life.

4.09.2016 / 09:18 | Varvara Pokrovskaya

French names for girls and men are especially popular in many countries of the world. Therefore, you can often meet people with beautiful names originally from France, no matter what country or city you are in. These names sound harmonious and melodious, give their owner a touch of exoticism, romance and elegance.

Features of French names

Names in France appeared a very long time ago - the period is calculated in tens of centuries. Over time, the names have changed, which was influenced by both historical events and fashion trends. In France, during the time of Gaul, among the nicknames there were a large number of Greek and Celtic ones, later Jewish names also appeared on the territory of the state.

In the Middle Ages, when the German conquerors came to the country, Germanic nicknames appeared, and already in the 18th century a law was created requiring parents to call babies the names of people who somehow belonged to the church. Soon, foreign nicknames lost their relevance, as citizens preferred to give Catholic or truly French ones. Today, such laws have lost their force, and the French give their babies any names.

Choosing a name today, parents adhere to European rules: a person can have one or two names and a single surname. Many citizens continue to observe traditions and prefer the nicknames of saints. Often a child receives two personal names. This is done in order to give the baby the patronage of two saints at once. However, in life, a person uses only one name that he likes the most. This approach is considered practical - that's what the French say. If a citizen after the age of majority decides to change a commonly used nickname, he can use any of his names. Thus, he can avoid paperwork and a long process of replacing documents.

Another interesting feature of French names is polite treatment. A title is often used for this. If your interlocutor is a man, you should say “Monsignor”, ​​but if the appeal is directed to an unmarried lady, you can tactfully say “Mademoiselle”, if we are talking about a divorced or married woman - “Madame”. However, today everything is much simpler, and the young girl is always addressed as “Mademoiselle”, and to the older ladies “Madame”. By the way, addressing a person only by name in France is a sign of ignorance and illiteracy. This is only allowed in the circle of family or friends.

State law also states that every citizen can have two names. The first is used as a personal, for use at school, work and in other areas of life. The second fits into the documents.

But according to the traditions of the country, children are given three names:

1. The first-born male will be named after the grandfather by the father's family, then the second name is given, in honor of the grandfather by the mother's family, then the name of the saint is used (chosen and given on the day of baptism).
2. The first-born females are called by the name belonging to the grandmother in the female line, then - the second grandmother in the male gender, the third nickname is chosen from the names of the saints.
3. The second boy in the family is named in honor of the great-grandfather by the father's family, then the maternal great-grandfather, the third invariably - in honor of the saint.
4. The youngest girl is given the name of her great-grandmother by mother, the second - by her great-grandmother by father, the third - by the name of a saint.

French female names

The names of French women are distinguished by their beauty and melody. In Catholic families, a woman necessarily has three names, the last of which refers to the saint commemorated on the day of baptism. Parents believe that the third nickname gives the daughter a protector who will accompany her throughout her life and help her avoid difficulties and problems.

If a woman has three names, this does not mean that she will be called differently. It will be called the main one, recorded in the identity document. When a girl becomes an adult, she can change her primary name to whatever her parents gave her.

In modern France, Russian names are again in fashion. The most popular include: Adele, Elvira, Camilla, Violeta. In turn, the French offer everyone their beautiful names, which are called babies all over the world:

• Amelie;
• Veronica;
• Irene;
• Carolina;
• Claire;
• Katherine;
• Monica;
• Morion;
• Celine;
• Sylvia;
• Jeannette;
• Emma.

The above list contains not only French names. So, the name Jeannette has Jewish roots, Veronica - Greek. There are a lot of borrowed names, all of them are used by many modern parents.

French names for men

Men, just like women, receive three names at birth: the main, the second and the nickname of the saint. Boys are called by the names of their fathers and grandfathers - traditions are rarely observed, and not all parents want to give European, American and other names to their sons.

The most popular names for the representatives of the strong half include:

• Gin;
• Michelle;
• Philip;
• Alain;
• Patrick;
• Pierre;
• Nicolas;
• Christoph;
• Christian;
• Daniel.

Also popular are Bernard, Eric, Frederic Laurent, Stefan, Pascal, David, Gerard, Julien, Olivier, Jacques.

In the country, many people use double names, for example, Jean-Pierre, Paul-Henry, Anna-Laura, Marie-Louise. Both words are written with a hyphen and belong to the same gender. But there are times when two words are used, masculine and feminine. For a man, the first name is masculine, for example, Jean-Marie, for a girl - feminine - Anna-Vincent. It is worth knowing that if the name of your interlocutor consists of two parts, this is how you should address him: Jean-Pierre, Anna-Laura, etc.

Many names for the weaker sex are formed from male ones, to which the suffixes "ette", "ine" and others are added. Often such additions affect the pronunciation: Armand - Armand, Daniel - Danielle.

A little about surnames. They first appeared in the 16th century. Then the king ordered all citizens to choose their own surnames. She could be the name of the father of the family (Bernard, Robert, Henry and others). A second word was added to the name, denoting a character trait, features of appearance, a settlement (large, low, dark, swarthy).

french boy names

The French language is considered one of the most melodic and beautiful among all existing ones. The names for young male citizens are also distinguished by euphony. This is due, first of all, to the origin of the names, which was influenced by historical events, the Catholic faith and other factors.

Some of the most popular boy names today are:

french girl names

The French are believing Catholics, giving children several names, one of which has a church connotation. This applies to both boys and girls. The chosen patron is especially important for the latter, because women are considered weak and tender, so more men need the strength of a protector.

Traditionally, girls are called a way: the first name is from grandmothers in both the female and male lines. The second is dictated by the day when the baby was baptized.

The second girl in the family receives the names of great-grandmothers plus the name of the saint. Despite the fact that this tradition is many years old, today's youth adheres to it with pleasure. However, among the parents there are also fashion lovers who are ready to reward their daughter with any name they like. Both Russian and European unusual names are popular, for example, Dylan, Kilian, Ocean, Ains.

Beautiful French names and their meaning

France is the owner of hundreds of beautiful, euphonious names. Every year the list is updated with new options.

Beautiful female names:

• Emma is one of the top names that has not left the first place for ten years. In France, every 7th newborn girl is called this way.
• Lolita or Lola - formed from Luisa. A beautiful, playful name, not suitable for little girls, but most welcome - for adults, business women.
• Chloe - came into fashion during the popularization of Negro culture.
• Lea - at first glance, an inexpressive name, but despite this, it is in demand among the French.
• Mano - derived from Mari. A noble name by French standards.
• Louise is a "retro" name that sends us back half a century.
• Zoya - used not only in Russia, but also in France. It translates as "life".
• Lilu or Lilia is an interesting name that evokes associations with a fairy-tale country.
• Lena is a familiar name that the French call their babies today.
• Sarah is a Jewish name that has been in vogue for decades.
• Kamiy is a name for all times, winning in all situations.
• Lina - formed from Angelina.
• Eve is the name of Adam's girlfriend, and therefore always remains in demand.
• Alice - has a number of options: Alicia, Alice, etc.
• Rima is the ruler of Rome.

Beautiful male names:

• Nathan - a leading place in the hit parade of male names. More than ten children are in the first places. If your name is Artem and you are going to France, know that they will call you Nathan there!
• Enzo is a nickname that owes its popularity to the famous film masterpiece from Luc Besson - the film "The Blue Abyss".
• Louis - brevity and royal charm in one nickname.
• Gabrielle is a new fashion trend that many couples who have become parents use today.
• Jules is a proper name that belonged to Julius Caesar. But today this nickname is associated with France.
• Arthur is the name of a great king and is now popular among boys.
• Timeo - names ending in "o" - the squeak of fashion.
• Rafael is a beautiful name for a little boy, adult men with this name are called Rafas.
• Mael - the nickname means something like "boss", "royal person".
• Adam - especially for Eve.

Popular French names

In recent years, Russians do not choose native Russian names, but prefer foreign ones, including French ones. They can be heard more and more often in educational institutions, kindergartens, and medical institutions. Among the popular ones are Daniel, Adele, Anabel, Anais, Ismina, Marcel, Margot, Marietta, Mathieu, Thomas, Emil.

When choosing a name for a baby, do not be too lazy to get acquainted with its meaning, because both the French and we believe that a popular name will bring good luck to the baby, and a nickname denoting a bright character trait, a magical symbol, natural forces, will give happiness, health and well-being!

Beautiful French names are original and have an interesting origin story. The first names and surnames in France appeared dozens of centuries ago. Since then, they have often changed both under the influence of historical events and due to the trend of new fashion trends. Women's names are endowed with a special charm and charm, which is why they are common not only in France, but also in other countries.

French traditions

Unlike Russian people, the French often have not one, but two or three names and only one surname. This custom appeared through the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. It is believed that if you name a child with two names, then throughout the life of a person not one, but two saints will protect.

If parents called their child a triple name, this does not mean that the people around them will pronounce it in full in order to address the person. Among the three names, the child has one official, which is used as the main one. When the baby grows up, he leaves himself only one name that he likes the most. In this case, he will not need to re-register documents.

The French names currently in use first appeared several hundred years ago BC. In Gaul often borrowed Greek and Celtic names, during the time of the invasion of the ancient Romans - Roman, in the Middle Ages - German. At the end of the 18th century, under a new law, the French named their children after Catholic saints.

French female names of the ancient Gallic era:

In ancient times, Greek names were common:

• Anne (Anne) - graceful, God's grace
• Eve (Ev) - full of life

Male names of Greek origin:

The most popular French female names of the late 20th century:

Frankish variants

Most Frankish names have 2 roots in their composition: the first root is named after the father, and the second is named after the mother.

Rare male names of Frankish origin:

Female names of Frankish origin:

• Arogasta - mistress of eagles
• Gibetruda - a friend of the gift
• Albofleda - having the beauty of fairies
• Chrodechild - a glorious warrior
• Avdovera is a happy warrior
• Avrovetha - arrow woman, swift
• Bertheflaed - shining with beauty

What are women and men called now

Below is a list of the most used and beautiful French female names in this century:

Asked, among other things, the question:
"Why do Russians have massively occurring surnames (Ivanov, Smirnov), the British (Smith-Brown), the Germans (Schwartz-Muller), the Welsh (Jones), the Irish (Murphy-Donovan), the Sikhs (Singh) , the Senegalese even have it, the Romanians and the Hungarians, but the French don't? Two Lemieux, two Dumas and three Rousseau - are these numbers? Where are millions of Renards and Ferrier - they are not. "

and I've been thinking, I'm probably right, klopk ..and says it, it seems to menot only and not so much, as Gavagai believes, that the French are less well-known, but about something else .. perhaps, and about the strong ethno-cultural autonomy of the French provinces..

however, there is still a clear, unconditional leader .. the most common surname in France is martin (Martin), and it leads by a wide margin - 235,846 people .. it is most common in the south (Provence, Alps, Rhone Valley) .. although the open-hearths are leaders in Paris ..

behind the open-hearths is quite dense:
2. bernard (Bernard, mainly in the south, Gironde, Rhone Valley) - 105 132
3. dubois (dubois, or groves in our opinion, is most common, as you might guess, in the north and in central France) - 95,998
4thomas - 95 387
5. robert - 91 393
6. richard (richard, "bogachev", most common in eastern France) - 90,689
7. petit (petit, apparently the equivalent of Maltsev?) 88 318
8. durand (duran, in second place in Paris, I find it difficult to find an equivalent) - 84 252
9. leroy (Leroy, "queens", common in the northern departments) - 78,868
10. moreau (Moreau, West France, Brittany, Charente, Loire Valley, I think they are "relatives" of Spanish morales) - 78,177

I’m curious, however, why are the Kuznetsovs in France, that is, Lefevres and Forges, far from the most common surnames .. Lefebvre, however, in 13th place (74,564 people) ..

it is clear that surnames derived from the names of professions are probably less common everywhere than those formed from names, but the Kuznetsov-Smiths seem to be clear leaders among Europeans .. in Russia, however, there are a lot of surnames formed from the names of animals, all sorts of falcons, orolovs, lebedevs, wolves, hares, mosquitoes ..
in France, the most common surname derived from the name of animals is renard, "lisitsyn" .. distant 83rd place, 31,646 people .. and unexpectedly few "rooster" - lecocq (9788 people), cocq (less than a thousand), le cocq ( several hundred), cocteau (these are 126 people at all) ..

of the surnames formed from the names of professions, fournier (Fournier, Pechkin and Pechnikov) are unexpectedly leading in France - 20th place, 57,047 people .. I thought that the Marchans, merchants, and they are in 60th place, 35,001 people ..
in 25th place - mercier, haberdasher .. we don’t have such, we somehow traded more and more bread and butter ..
"Melnikovs" - meunier - in 46th place, 35,741 people ..
"carpenters" - charpentier - in 134th place - 22,708 people ..

and now, it's funny: in the twentieth century, the surname absinthe (absinthe) finally disappeared in France ..
alas, on the verge of extinction are such wonderful surnames as Trintignan, Lancelotti and Dazu.
because the disappearance of surnames in France is largely due to the fact that girls, by law, cannot keep their maiden name when they marry, and children must take their father's surname ..

The history of our country is closely intertwined with the culture of different world powers. A special relationship has always been noted with France.

The cultural heritage of this country has left its weighty imprint on Russian art, philosophy and science.

The unusual tradition of naming girls with melodic French names dates back to the 19th century, when the mutual influence of the two countries was at its maximum.

This article will tell you how romantic French names for girls are formed, and why they still do not lose their popularity in other countries.

Features of French names and surnames

The beauty and euphony of French names won many hearts. Therefore, every year in different parts of the world, new owners of beautiful female names with an unusual sound melody appear.

When naming your daughter in French, you need to know the meaning of her unusual name and how it will sound in Russian.

It is interesting to note that in France there is a tradition of giving newborns double or even triple names. Most often these are names of the same kind and a hyphen is used when writing them.

But there are cases when a female name consists of one female name and another male.

To correctly name a girl, the female name is placed first, and the male second. For example: Nicole Vincent. If these names are interchanged, you get the name for the boy: Vincent-Nicole.

Important: if a girl was called a double French name at birth, then that is exactly what she should be called.

If the daughter is named Nicole-Vincent, then that is her name in ordinary life, and not Nicole for short.

Initially, the names of girls in France were given according to the following tradition, which was used from generation to generation:

1. When compiling The complex name of the first daughter was used: the name of the grandmother by mother, then followed by the name of the grandmother by father, and at the end is the name of the saint, which is honored on the day of the baby's baptism.
2. To to name the second daughter, the name of the grandmother on the mother's side was used first, and then the name of the grandfather on the father's side.

This tradition is rarely followed today. For the child, any beautiful name with a melodic sound is chosen, which is approved by either the parents or all close relatives.

List of popular female names

It is difficult to find a language whose words sound more romantic and melodious than French.

And sometimes it seems that when the baby is called in French, she will have the same beauty and sophistication that is hidden in the language of her unusual name.

Below is a list with the most popular names:

• Marie.
• Natalie.
• Helen.
• Sophie.
• Nicole.
• Michelle.
• Catherine.
• Julie.
• Elizabeth.
• Nadine.
• Stephanie.

It should be noted that most of the listed names have Greek roots, and their sound in French acquires a special charm.

In Russian, you can find many names that are also of Greek or Jewish origin, but sound in the Russian manner.

The French name Marie sounds like Russian Maria, and the romantic Julie is pronounced like Julia.

Grace and melodiousness are the qualities that explain the popularity of French surnames and given names in other countries.

Beautiful surnames for girls

The French surname adds charm and mystery to any woman. Amazing combinations of letters leave few people indifferent.

On the Internet you can find a lot of sonorous French surnames that make you draw attention to yourself.

Among them it is worth noting:

• Duran.
• Tom.
• Robber.
• Durue.
• Leroy.
• Duval.
• Bernard.
• Morel.
• Fournier.

It's important to keep in mind choosing a French surname to your taste, that the stress in them, according to the rules of the language, will fall on the last syllable.

Meaning

French surnames can have different meanings.

Their main characteristics are summarized in the following table:

It is interesting to note that the names of people of noble origin were formed from the sonorous names of their possessions and the prefix de. For example: le duc d'Artois or Duke d'Artois.

Below are the most common meanings of popular names that we borrowed from French:

• Monique is the only one.
• Sadrin is the protector of the weak and offended.
• Veronica is a winner, a conqueror of heights.
• Sophie is wise, wisdom coming from the heart.
• Nicole is the winner and conqueror of nations.
• Celine - pure, heavenly.
• Dominic - belonging to the Almighty.
• Zoe is life.
• Chloe is a young seed or shoot.
• Patricia is a noble person.
• Michelle is equal to the Almighty.
• Laurence is the winner, the owner of laurels.
• Aurélie is a golden girl.
• Julie is a curly beauty.
• Lea is tired, burdened with thoughts.
• Bridget is a strong personality, ready to face any trouble.

When choosing An unusual name for a newborn daughter is important for parents to remember that it should not only be harmonious and melodic, but also organically combined with the girl's middle name and her Russian surname.

The chosen name also plays a decisive role, because the girl will live with him all her life.

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