While cleaning out my bookmarks the other day, I rediscovered this post on French names from francophile blog Polly-Vous Francais. It contrasts the names found in the birth and death announcements of a French newspaper. Here’s a sampling:
| Male Births | Male Deaths | Female Births | Female Deaths |
| Anselme Edouard Guillaume Hipployte Hugo Lancelot Louis Timothée Victor Vladimir | Albert Emile Gabriel Jacques Jean Paul Pierre Roger Vincent Yves | Anaïs Béatrix Héloïse Hermine Irène Margaux Mathilde Noémie Quitterie Violaine | Andrée Denise Gilberte Gladys Huguette Jacqueline Jeanne Marguerite Marie Michèle |
Which set do you like better — birth announcement names or death announcement names?
Image: Adapted from Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque, 2022 by Chris Down under CC BY 4.0.
the male death announcements; the female births. That would be interesting to do in different cities in the US, too…
Interesting how there is virtually no duplication whatsoever between the lists… I suppose names aren’t at all timeless! I have to say I prefer the newer/birth announcement names.
That would be cool to do U.S. cities, Bridgett. I’ll check online and see what I can find.
I find the births names just a tad bit more exciting. The French are currently looking for more spunky and interesting yet legit names for their children. From the list, I especially liked these,
Hipployte
Hugo
Vladimir
Anaïs
Béatrix
Hermine
Margaux
Mathilde
Quitterie
Violaine
On the male side, I’d say I generally prefer the death announcement names, but I do prefer these birth names to their death counterparts: Anselme to Albert, Louis to Pierre, and Victor to Vincent.
For females, I generally like the birth names more, but out of the death names list, I do like these: Denise (biased, my aunt’s middle name), Jacqueline, Jeanne, Marguerite, Marie, Michèle, and Andrèe. The only name I dislike of the birth list is Hermine, what with me preferring Hermione and such. But I digress.
Nice list! I found your site through Appellation Mountain’s Sunday Summery, in which this list made an appearance. I’m quite sure I’ll be reading much more of your blog!
I’m intrigued by Quitterie. I wonder at it’s history and origins.
@C in DC – According to Wikipedia, St. Quiteria was a 5th century saint. She is said to have been martyred in Aire-sur-l’Adour, which is in southwestern France. (The Église Sainte-Quitterie in Aire-sur-l’Adour is dedicated to her.)
Wikipedia offers an etymology (‘the red one’), but this is hard to verify as the source no longer exists. (If anyone can tell me more about the origin of this name, please leave a comment!)
From what I know the name quitterie comes from the Greek kuthera (Kythira island)