# Names that are pronounced the same in French and English



## tm86

I'm looking for ideas for names that are pronounced the same or similarly in English and French.

So far all I have is Sophie, Julie, and Noelle, and shortened names for boys like Alex and Luc.

Though common in both languages, I don't consider names like Henri to be pronounced similarly.

Thanks for any help!


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## 95995

Luc is not just a shortened name, it is also a stand-alone name
Lucie/Lucy
Susanne/Suzanne
Frank
Marc
Michelle
Nathalie (except the French pronounce th as t)
Sylvie
Tim
Ben (is a shortened name)
Abigail
Christelle
Christine
Clio
Laura
Marianne
Mélanie
Nadine
Odette
Paul
etc etc


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## berkinet

EverHopeful said:


> Frank
> ... ...
> Nathalie


Well, possibly an English Frank. But, certainly not an American!
Also, at least in the US, Natalie is a common name, distinct from Nathalie. Hard to know which of the two maps to the French Nathalie.

You might add Fred to the list. Perhaps not truly french, but, quite common nickname for Frédéric. Elizabeth is close, except the french just can’t wrap their tongues around the “th.”


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## Bevdeforges

Oh, and lately "Frank" in anglophone countries is "Franck" here in France. 

There is also a current vogue for anglophone names here in France, so expect to hear 
Brian/Bryan
Cyril
Cecile
Christian
Christiane
Nicole
Anne
Dominique

I'm sure there are more.


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## RayRay

tm86 said:


> I'm looking for ideas for names that are pronounced the same or similarly in English and French.
> 
> So far all I have is Sophie, Julie, and Noelle, and shortened names for boys like Alex and Luc.
> 
> Though common in both languages, I don't consider names like Henri to be pronounced similarly.
> 
> Thanks for any help!


Eric, Raymond, Jacques, Maurice, Christian, Edward, Mark/Marc, Phillip/Philippe, Jonathan, Lawrence, Lionel, Vincent, John/Jean, Patrick.

Yvonne, Helen / Helene, Valerie, Marilyn (not sure of the French spelling), Caroline, Francine, Marie, Cecile, Corinne, Stephanie, Danielle, Barbara. 

Depending on how wide your parameters are for pronounced “the same or similarly”, David, Robert, Albert.

Ray


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## Lydi

Some problems with your boy's names there, RayRay.
tm86 ruled out Henri, considering the pronunciation too dissimilar, so I think other names with nasal consonants like Raymond, Christian, Jonathan and Vincent would be classed as not close enough. There's also the problem of non-pronounced consonants: Raymon(d), Vincen(t), Edouar(d). Lawrence is in a class of its own - Laurence is a girl's name in French (with the same nasal "en" as in Henri, by the way).

I've only got a few girls' names to add: Alice, Chloé, Léa, Carol, Emma, Maud, Vanessa, Jennifer, Emilie, Denise, Madeleine, Claire...
Can't think of any boy's names apart from ... Kevin, Dylan, Ryan, Steve (more often than not spelt Steeve!). There were always a fair number of those in schools where I worked!


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## 95995

There is a list of names of* French origin* here, and yes, Frank is spelt Franck in France. All of course are pronounced with a French accent  So perhaps the OP should just take a look at choose those that she/he considers are pronounced the same in both languages. After all, we have no idea of the reason behind the question.

https://www.trouver-un-prenom-pour-votre-bebe.com/prenoms-origine-francais.php


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## Bevdeforges

Lydi, I wasn't sure if the OP was referring to the nasal consonants or the dropping of the H sound in the French name, Henri. But to be honest, even the anglo-origin names aren't pronounced quite the same in French as they are in English.

Alice is more like Ah-leece in French (husband's granddaughter has this name) and Jennifer also comes out distinctly French in pronunciation. (Nevermind my pet peeve - Penelope, which sounds nothing like either the English or the original Greek versions.)


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## 95995

The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was the ad for Marianne Faithful's new album - pronounced Marianne Facefull


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## Lydi

EverHopeful said:


> After all, we have no idea of the reason behind the question.


Just guessing: a baby on the way with English/French speaking parents and families that don't speak the in-laws' language. Am I right?
We also chose names for our children which were pronounceable by both French and English speakers. My daughter, having a thought for my family, did the same.

Edit: Just seen Bev's post above. I agree, all the names suggested so far are pronounced differently in English and French. French and English vowel sounds are not the same at all, but some are closer than others.


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## 95995

Lydi said:


> Just guessing: a baby on the way with English/French speaking parents and families that don't speak the in-laws' language. Am I right?
> We also chose names for our children which were pronounceable by both French and English speakers. My daughter, having a thought for my family, did the same.


My parents did the same with our first names, but my older brother's second name is English and third name is French. My first and second names are French (I have a third name that is English but was only added later to please my English godmother). My younger brother doesn't have a second name - it was all getting too hard  But even though are first names are used in France, England and Australia, the pronunciation is slightly different.


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## growurown

Bob


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## VERITE1

Louise fit the bill? Victoria? Suzanne?


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## VERITE1

EverHopeful said:


> Nathalie (except the French pronounce th as t)
> 
> etc etc


Don't we all?


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## tm86

Lydi said:


> Just guessing: a baby on the way with English/French speaking parents and families that don't speak the in-laws' language. Am I right?
> We also chose names for our children which were pronounceable by both French and English speakers. My daughter, having a thought for my family, did the same.
> 
> Edit: Just seen Bev's post above. I agree, all the names suggested so far are pronounced differently in English and French. French and English vowel sounds are not the same at all, but some are closer than others.


You got it - I think it would be nice if the name is pronounced the same or at least similarly so mom and dad are calling out the "same" name, as well as the families on each side.

And, yes, a lot of the names given so far I would consider to not be pronounced the same. But I appreciate all suggestions! I've looked at lists and lists of baby names and came up with at least a dozen girl names, but just a few boy names so I thought I'd reach out for ideas.


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## 95995

tm86 said:


> You got it - I think it would be nice if the name is pronounced the same or at least similarly so mom and dad are calling out the "same" name, as well as the families on each side.
> 
> And, yes, a lot of the names given so far I would consider to not be pronounced the same. But I appreciate all suggestions! I've looked at lists and lists of baby names and came up with at least a dozen girl names, but just a few boy names so I thought I'd reach out for ideas.


Perhaps you are over-thinking this? 

Firstly, you consider some names suggested not to be pronounced the same, but at the same time you have suggested a few names that I would consider not to be pronounced the same, even though the pronunciation is similar. And you cannot overcome accents anyway. You can simply choose a name that you both like, that you both pronounce in a similar way. And remember that those French who call their sons Bryan, pronounce it the same way. Plus the French can easily say Michael with the English pronunciation, in fact sometimes it is the pronunciation that the French parents have chosen. If Judith is OK in your mind, the so is Jack - you simply choose that spelling so as not to confuse the American side of the family in terms of pronunciation. Michael is another name that the French can easily pronounce and spell, and again it's not unusual to choose that pronunciation here. In fact I have a former French colleague whose name is Michael with the anglo pronunciation - he has never had any problems with that. Anthony is pretty much pronounced the same in both languages, and the diminutive is used in both and sounds the same. Jonathan is so close, too. And Lenny, although a diminutive, is pronounced the same. Diminutive forms are not infrequently opted for as the actual name. Suzanne is old-fashioned here, but you could always opt for Suzy or Susie. 

I do think the French are more exposed to anglo-style names than the Americans, so maybe that's something you could/should consider, along with the anglo spelling?

Also, think about where you expect your child to be educated. If in the US, then it might just be best to choose anglo spelling - children can be cruel, not necessarily intentionally so.


The most important thing is that you choose a name that both of you as parents like 

Congratulations and good luck!


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## Catherine.

Bob has exactly the same pronunciation in French!



growurown said:


> Bob


When we chose a name for our children, we also made sure that

-the names weren't super dated in France
(example Yvonne, Gertrude or Raymond) . Some are okay but worn by older women/men like Nathalie, Gérard.
Here is a site of dated first names in France : tonprenom.com/prenoms/demodes/

Saying that, some old fashioned names came back successfully like Victor but I don't think that Adolphe will be back soon!

-That it doesn't mean something in French, kids can be so stupid sometimes! I liked the name Grace, it does mean graceful in french but I know that kid might have chant Grace is "grasse", that means "fatty".


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## 512346

Naming babies can be fun in this situation.

My girl has an English name but with a French middle name. The English name is pronounced the same in French.

My boy has a French name hyphenated with an English name. The only person on the planet with this name.

Both their 'French' names are from their French great grandparents.

Our third child (due in 2 months time) will have a very old (but very cool) French name but will have an English middle name.

What I am saying is you can mix and match. 

Have fun.


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## conky2

There is a chap in our village,our local chese producer, who goes by the name of William. He is originally from the Oise (60) and is definitely french. Now i always thought the french equivalent for william was Guillaume, but he is a most certain william, and it sound pretty much the same in both languages.


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## tm86

Catherine. said:


> Here is a site of dated first names in France : tonprenom.com/prenoms/demodes/
> .


Thanks for the list, I'll check it out.


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## tm86

EverHopeful said:


> Perhaps you are over-thinking this?
> 
> Firstly, you consider some names suggested not to be pronounced the same, but at the same time you have suggested a few names that I would consider not to be pronounced the same, even though the pronunciation is similar. And you cannot overcome accents anyway. You can simply choose a name that you both like, that you both pronounce in a similar way. And remember that those French who call their sons Bryan, pronounce it the same way. Plus the French can easily say Michael with the English pronunciation, in fact sometimes it is the pronunciation that the French parents have chosen. If Judith is OK in your mind, the so is Jack - you simply choose that spelling so as not to confuse the American side of the family in terms of pronunciation. Michael is another name that the French can easily pronounce and spell, and again it's not unusual to choose that pronunciation here. In fact I have a former French colleague whose name is Michael with the anglo pronunciation - he has never had any problems with that. Anthony is pretty much pronounced the same in both languages, and the diminutive is used in both and sounds the same. Jonathan is so close, too. And Lenny, although a diminutive, is pronounced the same. Diminutive forms are not infrequently opted for as the actual name. Suzanne is old-fashioned here, but you could always opt for Suzy or Susie.
> 
> I do think the French are more exposed to anglo-style names than the Americans, so maybe that's something you could/should consider, along with the anglo spelling?
> 
> Also, think about where you expect your child to be educated. If in the US, then it might just be best to choose anglo spelling - children can be cruel, not necessarily intentionally so.
> 
> 
> The most important thing is that you choose a name that both of you as parents like
> 
> Congratulations and good luck!


I'm definitely over thinking it. My spouse and I both have old fashioned names in our respective languages that can't be properly pronounced by the other side of the family. Heck - I can't even properly pronounce my spouse's name! So its worth over thinking in my opinion.

Jack, even though I don't think Judith is pronounced similarly, and Suzanne are contenders. Pretty much anything with a "th" or an "r" would ruled out based on my (perhaps seemingly arbitrary) pronunciation rules.


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## tm86

VERITE said:


> Louise fit the bill? Victoria? Suzanne?


I like Louise and Suzanne. Thanks!


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## tm86

growurown said:


> Bob


 spouse won't go for that, but I appreciate the input!


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## Bevdeforges

For a boy, you could consider Martin. It's mainly a matter of emphasis the difference in pronunciation between the English and the French. (DH's grandson and one of our donkeys are both called Martin. They both seem to have no problem no matter which way you say their names.)


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## ToulouseRob

conky2 said:


> There is a chap in our village,our local chese producer, who goes by the name of William. He is originally from the Oise (60) and is definitely french. Now i always thought the french equivalent for william was Guillaume, but he is a most certain william, and it sound pretty much the same in both languages.


Yes I know a couple of french guys called "William"; surprised me too. I wonder if there was some popular event (a film? a sporting event?) which brought "William" to attention? The pronunciation is certainly very similar in French and English.


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## ToulouseRob

I'm not going to make any specific suggestions here, just musing a bit.

First, there's quite a lot of variation in pronunciation in both languages, especially between and within American English and British English, but also between varieties of French in France, and with Quebecois and other non-metropolitan France varieties. So in a sense the OP is already into difficult territories. Even names in one language will be pronounced differently. 

Second, I know quite a few families where the parents have different, or multiple, languages and in a surprising number of cases the children adopt different names (or nicknames) and even modified personalities, according to which set of relatives they are with. In some cases this has been deliberately encouraged by giving the child a first name in one language and a second name in a different language and different sets of grandparents use different names.

I guess this is sometimes helpful if the child is brought up bi-(or multi-) lingual. If adults are not used to this situation (if they have been strictly brought up monoglot) it can seem quite unsettling, but the children I know of seem to have adapted very naturally to the situation.

Then again, how about choosing a name that is taken neither from French nor English? Either other European names such as _Nahia _(Basque), _Silvio _(Italian), _Andrea_(s) (Greek), etc, or further afield, Indian names such as _Tushar _or _Vidya_, or Chinese _Li _ or _Fei_?

Or to go a step further, maybe create a new name? I know some jurisdictions are a bit circumspect about this, but as long as they are not outrageous it might be worth considering. I know a family in Central America who have created names ending in "-ie" for their three girls. The names all sound as if they _ought _to exist in one language or another but they were in fact made up.


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## VERITE1

ToulouseRob said:


> Or to go a step further, maybe create a new name? I know some jurisdictions are a bit circumspect about this, but as long as they are not outrageous it might be worth considering. I know a family in Central America who have created names ending in "-ie" for their three girls. The names all sound as if they _ought _to exist in one language or another but they were in fact made up.


You mean like CLINTIS or CLINTIST?

(French children unfortunately named after Clint Eastwood)


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## VERITE1

And of course there are a sprinkling of GLADLY's in the world as in Gladly my cross-eyed bear.... no limit to people's imagination!


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## Peasant

tm86 said:


> I'm looking for ideas for names that are pronounced the same or similarly in English and French.


Mr. Canoe and Mr. Canuts.


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## 95995

For a girl, Céline?


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## Lydi

Nobody's mentioned Paul / Pauline yet.


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## 95995

Lydi said:


> Nobody's mentioned Paul / Pauline yet.


See first response in the thread (mine) which does include Paul, though not Pauline.

LOL there are now so many responses how could anyone keep track?


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## Lydi

Sorry EH, missed that. 

I'm surprised by quite a number of suggestions on here and would be curious to know how people pronounce the names, even in English!

By the way, for the OP, if in doubt, you can hear native speakers pronouncing most first names (and even some surnames) on the FORVO site.


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## 95995

Lydi said:


> Sorry EH, missed that.
> 
> I'm surprised by quite a number of suggestions on here and would be curious to know how people pronounce the names, even in English!
> 
> By the way, for the OP, if in doubt, you can hear native speakers pronouncing most first names (and even some surnames) on the FORVO site.


Absolutely no need to apologise, Lydi


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## Lydi

Sorry  I'm a serial apologiser!


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## tm86

ToulouseRob said:


> I'm not going to make any specific suggestions here, just musing a bit.
> 
> First, there's quite a lot of variation in pronunciation in both languages, especially between and within American English and British English, but also between varieties of French in France, and with Quebecois and other non-metropolitan France varieties. So in a sense the OP is already into difficult territories. Even names in one language will be pronounced differently.
> 
> Second, I know quite a few families where the parents have different, or multiple, languages and in a surprising number of cases the children adopt different names (or nicknames) and even modified personalities, according to which set of relatives they are with. In some cases this has been deliberately encouraged by giving the child a first name in one language and a second name in a different language and different sets of grandparents use different names.
> 
> I guess this is sometimes helpful if the child is brought up bi-(or multi-) lingual. If adults are not used to this situation (if they have been strictly brought up monoglot) it can seem quite unsettling, but the children I know of seem to have adapted very naturally to the situation.
> 
> Then again, how about choosing a name that is taken neither from French nor English? Either other European names such as _Nahia _(Basque), _Silvio _(Italian), _Andrea_(s) (Greek), etc, or further afield, Indian names such as _Tushar _or _Vidya_, or Chinese _Li _ or _Fei_?
> 
> Or to go a step further, maybe create a new name? I know some jurisdictions are a bit circumspect about this, but as long as they are not outrageous it might be worth considering. I know a family in Central America who have created names ending in "-ie" for their three girls. The names all sound as if they _ought _to exist in one language or another but they were in fact made up.


My sister in law picked a name for her first born that is pronounced the same in English, French, and a third language (her spouse's native language). It isn't a made up name, but an uncommon name that I'm not sure how she found. My spouse isn't in favor of a made up name, but we would be ok with a name from another language or an uncommon name. If she managed with three languages, I figure I can manage with two, but so far we haven't found a mutually agreeable winner.


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## tm86

Lydi said:


> Sorry EH, missed that.
> 
> I'm surprised by quite a number of suggestions on here and would be curious to know how people pronounce the names, even in English!
> 
> By the way, for the OP, if in doubt, you can hear native speakers pronouncing most first names (and even some surnames) on the FORVO site.


Thanks for the tip. Months back I made a list of potential names and made my spouse pronounce them all. That site will be helpful.


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## 512346

People mostly look at books or websites to choose their baby names.

Here is a cool trick.

Walk around a very old graveyard in France looking at the names on the tombstones from 100-150 years ago !!

There are some beautiful forgotten names. 

If you look at the top ten popular baby names in France.........they really are boring . Also in school it is a nightmare for children because there are 3-4 other children named the same in the class.

Be different.


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## 95995

Smeg said:


> People mostly look at books or websites to choose their baby names.
> 
> Here is a cool trick.
> 
> Walk around a very old graveyard in France looking at the names on the tombstones from 100-150 years ago !!
> 
> There are some beautiful forgotten names.
> 
> *If you look at the top ten popular baby names in France.........they really are boring . Also in school it is a nightmare for children because there are 3-4 other children named the same in the class.
> *
> Be different.


This has always been the case and it was certainly also the case (to a somewhat lesser extent) when I was at school in the UK, and it happens in Australia too. It can also be an issue in the workplace.

There are indeed some beautiful forgotten names, and also some horrid ones. My French grandmother's first name was Berthe 5which would be Bertha in English). She was born in the latter part of the 19th century, but even so she opted to always use her second name which was Marguerite. At least one cousin of mine had never realised that it wasn't her actual first name!


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## Lydi

Smeg said:


> Also in school it is a nightmare for children because there are 3-4 other children named the same in the class.


In my class at junior school many moons ago in the UK, there were *five* of us with the same first name! It was a Church of England all girls school, with a class of 30 girls. I wouldn't say it was a nightmare. The teacher just added our surnames to make things clear.

Looking at gravestones is a good idea, you can come across some very pretty unusual names.


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## Iguananaut

My neighbors named their son "Marcel" which is pronounced more or less the same, excepting the French "R".


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## tm86

Iguananaut said:


> My neighbors named their son "Marcel" which is pronounced more or less the same, excepting the French "R".


I like the name Marcel, except every time I hear that name I start to hear the "Marcel the shell" voice in my head


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## 95995

Abigail

I seem to have girl's names on the brain at the moment

Alexi
Benoît
Ludovic


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## Bevdeforges

How about Marc/Mark? Not too many alternative ways to pronounce that one!


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## Lydi

tm86 said:


> I like the name Marcel...


Personally, I'm not keen... given that "marcel" is the name given to this piece of men's underwear: un marcel


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## 95995

Lydi said:


> Personally, I'm not keen... given that "marcel" is the name given to this piece of men's underwear: un marcel


I don't have an issue, although it is an old-fashioned name - I'm a huge fan of Marcel Pagnol.


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## tm86

EverHopeful said:


> Abigail
> 
> I seem to have girl's names on the brain at the moment
> 
> Alexi
> Benoît
> Ludovic


I like Benoit. I tested a few Americans and they did not pronounce it correctly, but were able to after being told how to say it.


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## 95995

Can't remember if we've mentioned Daniel/Danielle


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## Bevdeforges

tm86 said:


> I like Benoit. I tested a few Americans and they did not pronounce it correctly, but were able to after being told how to say it.


Technically, I guess, the English for Benoit is Benedict. (And the French female version of Benoit is Bénédicte.)

Another possibility is Francis. Technically in French that should be François, but lately I've met any number of French men name "Francis" - think the singer, Francis Cabrel.


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## baldilocks

Bevdeforges said:


> Technically,* I guess, the English for Benoit is Benedict. (And the French female version of Benoit is Bénédicte.)*
> 
> Another possibility is Francis. Technically in French that should be François, but lately I've met any number of French men name "Francis" - think the singer, Francis Cabrel.


Of course, to be really sociable, one could use Bénédictine


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## 512346

Donald is pronounced the same in French and English.  If you like Disney or want to name your child after the leader of the free world. That could work.

However 'Trump' is pronounced differently. So I would forget that as a middle name. It is kinda pronounced like 'troomp' in French 

Does not sound cool at all


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## 95995

Smeg said:


> *Donald is pronounced the same in French and English.*  If you like Disney or want to name your child after the leader of the free world. That could work.
> 
> However 'Trump' is pronounced differently. So would forget that as a middle name. It is kinda pronounced like 'troomp' in French
> 
> Does not sound cool at all


Not really


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## VERITE1

And some to avoid:

Deirdre, Hermione, Penelope, Ruth.....


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## WrenCole

Hello! I want to add a few more:

Adrian (Frankish origin)
Airard (Old French)
Amaury (Old French)
Firmin (Old French)
Barisan (Old French)

Source: Unique and Old Baby Names


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## BoilingFrog

I called our boy Gabriel, which is Gaybriel in English and Gahbriel in French, but no one has any difficulty and Gabe knows when his name is called. I chose Guillaume for his middle name as that (being William in English) allows a whole host of diminuitives, such as Guy, or Bill, Billy, Will, Willy etc. should he ever have cause to want to use them. It does probably create a bit of an issue for him in future of having to spell that name out, but perhaps not, as we are moving to France this year.


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## BoilingFrog

Lydi said:


> In my class at junior school many moons ago in the UK, there were *five* of us with the same first name! It was a Church of England all girls school, with a class of 30 girls. I wouldn't say it was a nightmare. The teacher just added our surnames to make things clear.
> 
> Looking at gravestones is a good idea, you can come across some very pretty unusual names.


I'm surprised there are not more 'Herelies' in the world!


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## BoilingFrog

512346 said:


> Donald is pronounced the same in French and English.  If you like Disney or want to name your child after the leader of the free world. That could work.
> 
> However 'Trump' is pronounced differently. So I would forget that as a middle name. It is kinda pronounced like 'troomp' in French
> 
> Does not sound cool at all


If it ever had any, it must surely have lost any 'coolness' by now!


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## BackinFrance

BoilingFrog said:


> If it ever had any, it must surely have lost any 'coolness' by now!


This appears to be a very old thread, no idea why you have jumped onto it.


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