View Message

[Opinions] French double names, anyone? (and Hilary)
I'm going through a huge French phase, and really loving double names. What do you think- are French double names workable in an English-speaking country? Are they totally pretentious? Should they stay GPs? Should they be made separate first and middle names, with the double name as a family nickname? (Ex: Marie Léonide Lastname, called Marie-Léonide at home.)These are some that have been on my mind, opinions?
Marie-Cécile
Marie-Thérèse
Marie-Léonide
Léonide-Édith
Léonide-Marthe
Léonide-Camille (ca-MEE, not ca-MEEL)
Camille-LéonideTo save board space, asking the other question on my mind: would Hilary get constantly associated with Clinton? Or Duff? My mother immediately jumped to Hillary Duff, and I have worried people would immediately think Clinton, since the media and most people call her Hillary, not Clinton (which bugs me a lot, but is another story). Thoughts?Thanks in advance!
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

Re Hilary.
It's beautiful and has a lovely meaning.
When a baby Hilary grows uop she won't be tagged with the Clinton label - the public has a short memory.
In any case, Hilary is not Hillary (the single L spelling is the most authentic and the original). Or you could choose Hilarie just to be different.
If you like Hilary - go for it!
vote up1
I'm in a hurry, but I just wanted to say I love Marie-Louise so much. :-)
vote up1
Jean-Paul is so handsome. I love it!
vote up1
Clinton could be Bill - I think that's why the press favors Hillary.I like double French names quite a lot, but I do think they're really pretentious and better GPs. Like, really pretentious.
I love Marie-Cecile and Marie-Therese. I'm not sure about Leonide yet.I also like Anne-Sophie (cliche I know) and a lot of Jean- ones - Jean-Etienne, Jean-Pascal, Jean-Luc, Jean-Paul. I find them enjoyable, but kind of silly.Anyway I don't - I mean. Rudolph. I am totally unqualified to answer this question as I very much tend to dissociate names from namesakes. Hillary is a very masculine name to me though.
vote up1
Oh, wow. I was just thinking of doing a thread like this. I'm about to read a book by Antonia Frasier on the lovelife of Louis XIV. Glancing throught the index was a name-nerds feast of double French names. The one that sticks out in my mind is Marianne-Victoire. I never would have put those two together, but they work in a Versailles kind of way. I wish I had my book with me to list more, but that will have to do for now. From your list j'adore Marie-Leonide (nn Mimi?)(Marie-Leontine would work well too.)Au revoir
vote up1
Marianne-Victoire is lovely! I wouldn't have thought of them together, but it works very well.Marie-Leontine is lovely, now I'm torn between that and Marie-Léonide. I'd been thinking perhaps Manon for a nickname, but I love Mimi! It's adorable and perfect. Merci bien!
vote up1
I like French double names, but I think they should be separate first and middle names, and perhaps just using the double name at home. Marie-Léonide is quite a mouthful for a first grader to learn to spell.Marie-Cécile - Pretty.
Marie-Thérèse - Pretty.
Marie-Léonide - I don't really like Leonide.
Léonide-Édith - See above.
Léonide-Marthe - I don't like either name.
Léonide-Camille (ca-MEE, not ca-MEEL) - I don't like Leonide and I only like the English pronunciation of Camille.
Camille-Léonide - See above.I think there will be some people who associate the name, but it will pass. Most associations, unless they are very strong (ie Adolph), generally fade.
vote up1
I definitely think French double names can work outside French speaking countries and I don't think they're pretentious. More like sophisticated. I think double French names for girls are more accepted but personally I love French boy names. Marie-Cécile is lovely but I'm not very fond of the Léonide -combos.French boy names I like: Jean, Guillaume, Thibault, Étienne, Loïc, Hénri, Marc, AlexandreHénri-Étienne, Marc-Étienne, Jean-Guillaume, Jean-Thibault, Marc-Alexandre, Loïc-Alexandre...(the possibilities are endless :)And don't separate the names if you want a double name.
vote up1
Luc-Pascal (my favorite 'duplet')All of your duplets were lovely.

This message was edited 3/19/2008, 1:47 PM

vote up1
Thank you! Luc-Pascal is lovely. I didn't list my male 'duplet's, since the post was getting so long, but I'm also fond of Jean-Baptiste, Jean-Marie, Louis-Georges or Georges-Louis (can't choose) and Paul Richard (which honours, and has both an English and a French prn. that I like, hooray! but it looks funny with a hyphen).
vote up1
LOVE Jean-Baptiste, Jean-Louis
vote up1
Jean-Baptiste is wonderful, I agree. It reminds me of another combination. There's a minor character in the movie "Indochine" named Jean-Baptiste Loic. I fell in love with it entirely.
vote up1
I have also met a Loic
vote up1
I like the names themselves, but the hyphenated, accented names strike me as kind of pretentious unless there is family history.I worry about that with Hilary as well. I have liked the name for a while -- pleasant sound, nice meaning -- but I do tend to think of Clinton, and so do most people I know. Granted, her immediate media presence is probably a factor, and if she loses the election, the association will go down in coming years. But, then, if she wins... I won't be having kids for a little while yet, so I would just wait it out.
vote up1
If it's not hyponated, but is still accented, would it still seem pretentious? Like, if I used Marie Léonide or Marie Thérèse, with those being the middle names? I don't think I could use Leonide or Therese, it would just look so wrong, since accents are part of the spelling. (Also, isn't Therese a German name pronounced ter-EES-uh?) There's no family history, unless you count my French stepgrandmother.Edith I can totally leave the accent off, because it's correct spelled Edith. The others might drive me a little batty, though.
vote up1