Unable to think of a story? While creating a French protagonist, you must be careful to spell their name correctly. With our french name generator, we can assist you!
About French Names
French people are allowed to have up to two first names that are used exclusively on official papers like passports and marriage certificates. One of these names is used in daily life. Although using the second given name was more customary in the past, the first given name is typically utilised in current society. While extra given names can occasionally be used (typically to honour the child's grandparents), this custom is no longer often observed in modern society. A second given name is not the same as an English middle name.
While the majority of conventional French given names are gender-specific, several, including Dominique, Camille, and Claude, can be used for both genders. Many people have compound names like Jean-Luc or Anne-Sophie, which are treated as one given name rather than two combined ones and often mix names of opposite genders (the first component in the compound is the defining one, as in "Marie-George"). Traditional French names like Jean (John), Marie (Mary), Jeanne (Jane), Pierre (Peter), or Jean-Baptiste come from Roman Catholic saints (John the Baptist). Starting at the end of the 18th century (following the French Revolution), there have been several laws that have limited the names that French parents can give their children. While many of these laws have been changed or repealed over time, it wasn't until 1993 that French parents were finally permitted to name their children whatever they pleased (although birth registrars still hold the right to query or even refuse names in certain circumstances, usually if they feel the chosen names could open up the child to ridicule). French law required children to take their father's last name until 2005, unless the father was unknown in which case the kid would take their mother's last name. The legislation has now been changed to allow children to use either their mother's or father's last name, or a hyphenated version of both.
In France, using someone's given name unless they are a family member or close friend is considered impolite. It's also impolite to use someone's surname unless you are both in a professional setting, even if you preface it with "Monsieur" (this should only be used to refer to other people; when addressing a specific person, it is best to avoid surnames and simply use "Monsieur").
