Message: "Is Jeanette a genuine French name?"

[Facts] Is Jeanette a genuine French name?

by guasguendi

1/25/2025, 2:22 PM

I've recently noticed a vast difference between the use of Jeannette versus Jeanette in France, as shown by the country's chart (https://www.behindthename.com/name/jeanette/top/france?compare=Jeannette&type=percent). This made me ask a couple of questions, especially since French is listed as the first usage on the page for Jeanette:

-Is it traditionally used in France? Or is the spelling influenced by English and the Scandinavian languages?
-Was it recorded in France during the Middle Ages?

Thanks in advance.

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- Retrospectre

2/3/2025, 11:54 PM

The spelling in English might have been influenced by the Scottish Jean and Janet. Jean was a form of Jane in used in Scotland, and Janet was usually how the diminutive was spelt, but there was also Janette and Jeanette. It was about as popular has Annette or Harriette, possibly more so.

- Septapus (Buneary)

2/3/2025, 3:51 PM

Since Jeanette appeared on the top 500 in 1936, there must be French women named Jeanette. I think it's safe to assume that the girls named Jeanette were French, considering this was before foreign names became a mainstay of the French popularity charts, and France's naming laws were stricter in 1936 than they are now (they were loosened in 1966 and mostly done away with in 1993).

- Amandine (Destry) +1

1/31/2025, 7:12 AM

I think that Jeanette is either influenced by English and Scandinavian languages (immigrants used it in France) or it is a spelling variant that is rarely used, such as Seann instead of Sean.

In French Jeannette is the correct form as it is a diminutive of Jeanne. I think Jeanette would actually not even be pronounced the same in France under normal circumstances as Jean (masculine) and Jeanne don't sound the same in French.

- elbowin

1/31/2025, 2:00 PM

Jean :: Jeanne is completely regular in French including the rather large change in pronuciation, and can be compared to bon :: bonne (good, adj.masc :: adj.fem) with a similar change in spelling and pronunciation.

- Amphelise (Chrisell)

1/30/2025, 12:14 AM

Dmnes has Jehanette and Jehannette in France in the Middle Ages (1313 and 1421 respectively). Nothing ending in -ette without the h between the e and a, though.

This message was edited 1/30/2025, 12:16 AM

- elbowin

1/26/2025, 4:01 PM

French registrars insist on correct spellings of given names for French children (there is a bit of leeway for children of foreigners), so the vast difference is not really surprising.

- Kirke

1/25/2025, 11:45 PM

I don't get the sense that it is traditionally used in France. I'm guessing the use is because of misspelling or influence from other languages. According to government stats Jeanette has been used less than 300 times since 1900 while Jeannette has been used almost 20,000 times.

Edited to add: I didn't realize these numbers were already available on this site. I looked them up on a French language site not knowing this.

This message was edited 1/25/2025, 11:48 PM

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