Usually a Frenchman has one or more personal names and a surname. Traditionally, most people receive their names from the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints. Only one of them (usually the first) is used in everyday practice, the others are used only in official documents such as birth, death and marriage certificates. Not to be confused with the compound names of the Catholic tradition: Jean-Claude, Jean-Jacques. Such constructions are one (single and indivisible) name. Under no circumstances will Jean-Claude be called either Jean or Claude.

A separate article is the pronunciation of French names (and surnames) in Russian. Obvious distortions apparently occur due to the fact that the two cultures have been interacting for quite a long period of time and this interaction is (was) of a massive nature.
So, all French surnames starting with Le, for example Le Corbusier, Le Pen, etc. in Russian are read as Le Corbusier and Le Pen, while in the original it is read approximately as Le - Le Corbusier, Le Pen ( sometimes Le Pan). The same thing happens with the prefix De, as for example in marquise de Pompadour, which in the Russian version sounds like marquise de (de) Pompadour. The French version sounds approximately like de Pompadour or, another example, Honoré de Balzac.

Also included here individual surnames, the pronunciation of which is very difficult due to the lack of corresponding sounds in the Russian language. For example, famous writer Victor Hugo's name is not Victor Hugo at all, but rather Victor U'go, where u' is a very softened vowel u, which has no correspondence in Russian.

But the most surprising case is the naming in Russian tradition almost all the crowned heads who have ever occupied the French throne. Most likely, their names are displayed in the Latinized version, which inevitably led to their distortion. So, Hugo Capet, in fact U'g Cape, all Henrys are Henri, all Charles are called Charles, and all Louis are Louis. What makes this all particularly confusing is the fact that in France, in parallel with the name Louis, the name Louis is common. The names of Napoleon, Philip and Robert are more or less correctly translated.

The most common French names (by number of speakers from 1940 to 2006)

Male names

1 Jean
2 Michel
3 Philippe
4 Alain
5 Patrick
6 Pierre
7 Nicholas
8 Christophe
9 Christian
10 Daniel
11 Bernard
12 Eric
13 Frederic
14 Laurent
15 Stéphane
16 Pascal
17 Sebastien
18 David
19 Gerard
20 Thierry
21 Julien
22 Olivier
23 Jacques
24 Alexandre
25 Thomas
26 Claude
27 Didier
28 François
29 Dominique
30 Vincent

Female names

1 Marie
2 Nathalie
3 Isabelle
4 Sylvie
5 Catherine
6 Françoise
7 Martine
8 Christine
9 Monique
10 Valérie
11 Sandrine
12 Veronique
13 Nicole
14 Stéphanie
15 Sophie
16 Anne
17 Chantal
18 Celine
19 Patricia
20 Brigitte
21 Annie
22 Julie
23 Aurélie
24 Lawrence
25 Christiane
26 Jacqueline
27 Dominique
28 Virginia
29 Michele
30 Corinne

In France, the appearance of surnames has been recorded since the 12th century. Places of birth, professions, and nicknames were used to educate them. Aristocrats used the preposition de before their surname. By royal decree of 1539, nicknames became mandatory for everyone. The name and surname of the newborn were now carefully recorded in the parish books. Changing the family's personal name was prohibited by royal decree. What kind of French surnames exist? List, Interesting Facts and history are given below.

Etymology of French surnames

Many French surnames (the list is very long, we will give only a couple of them) come from male names: Michel, Simon, Robert. In very rare cases from women: Blanche, Rose, Berthe.

Surnames from the name of the area where the person was born are very common: Lenormand (Norman), Parisy (from the word Paris - Paris), Lyonnais (Lyon)
By location of the house: Dupont (pont - bridge), Dubois (bois - forest), Fontaine (fountain). From the names of professions: Peugeot (resin seller), Mitterand (grain weigher), Boucher (butcher). From nicknames: Leroux (red-haired), Bonnet (cap), Mauduit (ill-mannered). As you can see, many beautiful French surnames, the list of which we have given above, do not mean such beautiful concepts at all.

Forms of French surnames

Medieval French surnames, the list of which is very extensive, had feminine and masculine. But modern nicknames have a single form for men and women. That is why the French surnames of girls and men are the same.

By components With a French surname you can find out where a person was born. Nicknames beginning with Le- (La-, Les-), as well as De-, Du-, Del-, Dela-, Des-, are characteristic of Normandy and Northern France. The suffix -ot indicates that the person is from Burgundy or Lorraine. The suffixes -eau, -uc, -ic indicate that the person was born in Western France.

It is interesting that two forms could be formed from one surname, which reflects the difference in the language of the northern regions of France - langue d'oïl, from the Provençal language - langue d'oc. The northern surnames Bois, Chaussée, Roy correspond to the southern ones Bosc, Caussade, Rey.

The “toponymic” shell of a surname does not always indicate where a person was born. Charles de Gaulle was very proud that his nickname was consonant with ancient name France - la Gaule. From childhood, he was confident that he would accomplish great things for France. But Gaulle’s surname is Flemish, and in Flemish it sounds Van de Walle, which means “living at the fortress wall.”

Last name change

According to the royal decree of 1539, the surname was to be inherited. The child was obliged to bear the father's family nickname. The mother's surname was assigned to the baby only if the father was not known.

There is still a possibility of changing your last name. As a rule, its reason is the indecentness of the nickname. In the Middle Ages, the surname could have a completely different meaning. Today in France, parents decide for themselves whether their child will bear a paternal or maternal nickname.

There are very funny case change of surname during french revolution. In the dock of the revolutionary tribunal was a certain de Saint-Cyr, de Saint-Syr. When asked by the chairman about his last name, he replied that he was de Saint-Cyr. “We don’t have nobility anymore,” the chairman objected. The particle “de” was typical for aristocratic families. “Then I’m just Saint-Cyr,” the defendant was not taken aback. “We have no more saints,” continued the chairman. “Then I’m just Sire,” the defendant retorted. “There are no more kings and royal titles,” the chairman continued. The defendant turned out to be an extremely witty person. He stated that he could not be judged since he did not have a surname. The court found him not guilty and ordered him to choose a republican name.

Data

Like all concepts in French, surnames have a fixed accent at the end of the word. There are 250,000 surnames in modern France. The most common surname is Martin. Two surnames are considered the most iconic and carry a social message: Dupont and Duchateau. Dupont (pont - bridge) is a widespread nickname and is a symbol of the average Frenchman. Duchateau (chateau – castle) is a surname symbolizing a rich Frenchman. Distinctive feature French surnames is that when addressing a girl they add mademoiselle, to married woman or widow madame, and to a man - monsieur. This is the only thing that distinguishes between male and female French surnames, a list of which we have already given.

Transliteration of French surnames

Today, the correct rendering of foreign names and surnames requires unification, since many translators do not transliterate them correctly. As a result, the same character in different translations It turns out there are several spelling options for his name. French surnames transliterated into Russian in accordance with the rules of reading the French language. But the problem is that not all French sounds are found in Russian. Therefore, such combinations of letters as -ain, -aim, -an, -am, -on, -un, -in, etc., that is, all nasal sounds, in Russian transliteration acquire the sound “n”: -en, - en, -an, -an, -on, -en, -en. The sounds [ǝ] and [œ], reminiscent of the sound ё in the word “dead,” are translated into Russian as “e” at the beginning or middle of a word. At the end of the word there can be two spellings: Villedieu - Vildieu, Montesquieu - Montesquieu.

To avoid hurting people's feelings, it is important to pronounce French surnames correctly. A list in Russian would be a very good idea, but so far there is no single list.

French surnames are endowed with extraordinary charm and beauty. The French language differs significantly from the languages ​​of neighboring European countries. If English and German surnames is more likely to be pronounced correctly, then even well-known hereditary names in France are not always obvious. So, for example, the common surname Le Pen in Russian will sound like “Le Pen”, while its real pronunciation is “Le Pen”. The same thing happens with the prefix De.

In French culture, there may be the most distorted surnames, the reading of which is possible if you know the special rules. A large number of French sounds do not coincide at all with Russian ones, resulting in misunderstandings. For example, the French names Charles and Henri from Russian lips will sound like Karl and Heinrich.

Addressing a French citizen should begin by pronouncing the title - “Monsieur/Monsieur” or “Madame/Mademoiselle”.

In addition, there are specific rules for addressing the French, since gallantry is in the blood of this people. The first option is placed before addressing a man, and the second option before addressing a woman. Moreover, a wise woman is addressed as madam, and a young lady is addressed as mademoiselle.

Where it all started

As in other countries of the world, the first French surnames were granted to the highest nobility in the 11th century. Until the second quarter of the 16th century, only a few people had ascribed nicknames. Everything changed in 1539, when a royal decree ordered that every French person be given a hereditary nickname. Since then, every person living in France had a surname, which was entered into church records from generation to generation. It was impossible to change such a postscript.

Napoleon changed the legislation somewhat and allowed generic names to be changed in special cases. It was permissible to change old nicknames to new ones in cases where the first ones had an offensive meaning. Today it also remains possible in some cases to change hereditary names, especially if they somehow offend the bearer or have an obscene meaning. Of course, the process of changing a surname is quite complicated, but the list of modern French surnames may thus lose about half of the historical ones.

According to historical information, in the Middle Ages a child was given his father's surname; the mother's nickname was not reflected in any way on the hereditary name.

The exception was the absence of a father, then the child bore the mother's name. Today, parents have the right to choose whose surname the child will take, or whether it will be double.

From first name to last name

French surnames, distinguished by their beauty, are largely derived from proper names. However, some beautiful family names come from the names of the occupations to which their ancestors devoted their lives. There are several attractive surnames, which are based on geographical names and distinctive aspects of a person. A striking example of a beautiful generic name with a toponymic orientation is Romainville, the meaning of which is the owner of the villa Romanus. It is worth noting that the preposition de preceding the toponymic surname speaks of its ancient. noble origin Most beautiful generic names come from proper names.

Thus, male family names Bernard in honor of St. are widespread in France. Bernard, Robert from the name Robert and the famous surname Richard (Richard).

Female diversity

The generic names of girls are the same as their male counterparts. History has decreed that female and male generic names are in no way different from each other. The dictionary of French surnames contains all surnames that have ever existed in the state, which are arranged alphabetically; there is no division in it. Beautiful generic names for girls are based on a proper name, such as Bernard. The surname became most famous after the bright appearance on television of actress Sarah Bernhardt.

Among others, the surnames Leroy (king), Michel from a similar name, Bonnet, which means “good and kind,” and Francois stand out. It is these beautiful surnames that are most often found among French girls. The history of cinema also preserves other rare but unusual family names - Binoche, Marlowe, Bardot, Bouquet, Frachon and others. It is worth noting that they are all very short and melodic.

What does the surname say?

The men's surnames tell us about some of the characteristics of this family. For example, the most popular generic names, which are stored by the Dictionary of French Surnames, come from the name of the founder of the family. Thus, one can easily find out about it. The surnames Gerard, David, Simon, Laurent and others convey that the founders of the clans were men with these names. The surname may also be based on other information, for example, information about the house or area where the family originated, about the professional data of the forefather or his appearance.

Thus, the surnames Borde and Laborde convey that men’s home was originally located on the edge of something. Lafayette translates as "beech" and Chenal as "canal". The family names Sueur mean that the forefather worked as a tailor, and Fournier as a baker. Common French surnames can tell not only about family tree, but also tell a family story.

Forefather with a big body, or funny surnames

The most unusual generic names come from interesting nicknames which were given to the forefathers. In the family of holders of the hereditary names Fauvel or Faveau, the progenitor had reddish hair color, and Blond/Leblond had light hair color. Brun/Lebrun and other variations are reminiscent of the brunette father. The origin of French surnames was often based on the external proportions of a person. Thus, Dubufe/Dubut come from the large body of the founder of the genus.

Other unusual names include Chaperon, meaning “old cap,” Watebled, meaning “spoiled wheat,” Cacheleu, meaning “wolfhound,” and Bercheux, meaning “sharp shooter, good hunter.” Often at the core male surnames there was a character trait, for example Renard or Leloup. The first is translated as “fox”, the second as “wolf”.

The surname Talon was given to a person with large feet.

Simple common surnames

The most popular generic names, as a rule, are the simplest, based on proper names. History has preserved many famous French figures, whose surnames are among the most common today. Among them:

• Bertrand;
• Robert;
• Tom;
• Martin;
• Simon;
• Bernard and others.

Many celebrities today bear the names Garcia, Vincent, Francois, Andre, Dubois and others. The most common generic name is Marten. There are more than 235 thousand of its speakers in France. The second most popular surname is Bernard (more than 100 thousand people). Other surnames are less common. The least known name is Martinez, that is, the son of Martin. There are less than 50 thousand people with this last name.

One of my favorite French actresses is Virginie Efira

First a few general notes:

• In France, double names (prénom) are popular, such as Jean-Pierre, Paul-Henri, Anne-Laure, Marie-Louise. As a rule, these are two names of the same gender, written with a dash. But it also happens that one name is feminine and the other is masculine. For a boy, the first place will be a male name (Jean-Marie), for a girl - a female name (Anne-Vincent). It is worth considering that if a person has double name, then it should be called exactly that, that is, Jean-Pierre is exactly Jean-Pierre, and not just Jean or Pierre.
• Many female names are formed by adding a suffix to the male name -e,-ette, or -ine. Sometimes these suffixes affect pronunciation (Armand m. (Arman) -Armande zh. (Armand), sometimes not (Daniel m. - Danielle zh.)
• Diminutive male names are obtained by adding the suffix -et, -ot, and female names - ette, -otte.
• Do you know how surnames appeared? In a nutshell: in the 16th century, the king ordered all families to acquire surnames (le nom de famille - literally the name of the family). The surname could be the name of the head of the family (Martin, Bernard, Thomas, Robert, Richard, Michel, David, François, Henri etc.) or some of his distinctive characteristics (Legrand (big), Petit (small), Roux (red)) or place of residence (Dubois (lit. from the forest or one who lives near the forest), Dupont (lit. one who (lives) next to the bridge or in the town of Le Pont), Dumont (mont - mountain)), his main occupation or instrument (Fournier (stove maker); Mercier (seller), Beaudelaires – carpenter’s cleaver, Hachette – carpenter’s adze or mason’s pick, Bonnet – hat, cap (lawyer, judge) etc.). The names of plants were also used (Castan (from chataîgne - chestnut), Lavigne (vigne - grapes). As in French, there are surnames formed using the suffixes “a”, “de” or “d'” originally denoting “the son of such a then” (Degeorges, Dejean, Dustin, Ageorges, Alamartine, etc.), but in modern France they are already considered rare.

By the way, there were cases, albeit rare, when a surname became a personal name (Chantal, Chanel, Xavier, Gonzague, Vianney, etc.)

To find out the names of modern French people, let's look at which names were most popular in each decade of the last century since the 30s.

Jean, Michel, André, Pierre, Claude, Jacques, René, Roger, Robert, Bernard

Marie, Monique, Jacqueline (feminine version of Jacques), Jeannine, Yvette, Denise, Jeanne*, Paulette, Simone, Cristiane

Jean, Michel, Daniel, Bernard, Gérard, Alain, Jacques, Claude, André, Pierre,

Marie, Monique, Nicole, Françoise, Jacqueline, Cristiane, Danielle, Annie, Michèle

Jean, Michel, Alain, Patrick, Cristian, Philippe, Bernard, Daniel, Gérard, Dominique

Marie, Martine, Françoise, Chantal, Catherine, Brigitte, Monique, Dominique, Annie, Nicole

Philippe, Eric, Pascal, Thierry, Jean, Patrick, Christophe, Laurent, Alain, Bruno

Sylvie, Nathalie, Isabelle, Catherine, Christine, Veronique, Valérie, Marie, Corinne, Patricia

Christophe, David, Stéphane, Sébastien, Frédérick, Laurent, Olivier, Jérome, Nicolas, Eric

Sandrine, Nathalie, Stéphanie, Isabelle, Céline*, Valérie, Cristelle, Sophie, Karine (derived from Catherine)

*Céline Dion (she's Canadian, by the way)

Nicolas, Julien, Sebastien, Guillaume (by the way, this is the French version of William!), Alexandre, David, Romain*, Thomas, Anthony, Cédric

Aurélie, Emilie, Elodie, Céline, Julie, Marie, Stephany, Audrey**, Laetitia (meaning “joy”), (meaning “virgin”)

** Audrey Tautou

Thomas, Kevin (from Irish kaomhin - “noble birth”), Alexandre, Nicolas, Maxime, Julien, Quentin (from Latin quintus - fifth, number 5 in esotericism - a symbol of harmony and balance), Romain (literally “Roman” , in Russian Roman), Anthony, Florien

Marie, Laura, Camille, Marine (lit. “sea”), Manon, Julie, Pauline, Léa, Anais, Marion

2000 –

Théo, Lucas, Hugo, Maxime, Clément, Antoine, Alexandre, Mathis, Alexis, Romain

Manon, Léa, Emma, ​​Cloé, Camille, Clara, Pauline, Mathilde, Eva, Laura

Short names for both girls and boys are now in fashion: Léa, Léo, Théo, Jade, Enzo, Tom, Emma, ​​etc.

There is also a particular tendency to call girls names starting with l: Lola, Luise, Lilou, Lylou, Lisa, Lou, etc.

Biblical names do not remain in oblivion: Nathan, Gabriel, Raphaël, Noah and Adam.

The “simple” names are again becoming the most fashionable: Pierre, Jean or Jacques, as well as Louise, Joséphine and Victoria.

Scroll popular titles The kind is endless, because as many people there are as many opinions. Each person will point out beautiful surnames that he personally likes. They can be short or long, but, according to most, the most popular are aristocratic designations of family names. Let's figure out which surnames are more common and respected, and where they even came from.

List of the most beautiful Russian surnames in the world

The word "surname" is translated from Latin language, how is the family". This means that this indicates that a person belongs to the clan from which he came. The emergence of family nicknames was often associated with the profession that the family practiced from generation to generation or with the name of the area in which the family lived, or the name of the family indicated character traits, specific appearance, and a nickname. It’s not for nothing that there is a saying “not in the eye, but in the eye” - people have always applied labels very accurately.

In Russia, at first there were only first and patronymic names, and the first surnames appeared only in the 14th century. Naturally, noble people received them: princes, boyars, nobles. Peasants received official family names only at the end of the 19th century, when they abolished serfdom. The first names of dynasties came from the names of places of residence, birth or possessions: Tver, Arkhangelsk, Zvenigorod, Moskvin.

1. Sobolev
2. Morozov
3. Gromov
4. Almazov
5. Derzhavin
6. Bogatyrev
7. Mayorov
8. Admirals
9. Lyubimov
10. Vorontsov

List of the most beautiful surnames for girls:

1. Voskresenskaya
2. Lebedeva
3. Alexandrova
4. Serebryanskaya
5. Korolkova
6. Vinogradova
7. Talnikova
8. Generous
9. Zolotareva
10. Tsvetaeva

A selection of the most beautiful foreign surnames

Foreigners believe that a beautiful surname helps the family, brings good luck and happiness. But, it’s true, a person with a family nickname is teased by his peers from childhood, and subsequently he grows up insecure with a whole baggage of complexes. So it turns out that the family name brought bad luck. For people with a beautiful family heritage, everything turns out differently. Boys and girls know from childhood that they can do anything in this world, so they walk with their heads held high.

Each country has its own beautiful surnames, which are unusual to the Russian ear. But the origin of family designations is the same all over the world. Some took the name of their city, while others took the nickname of the founder of the clan, the occupation of the family, and their status. Among foreign surnames you can also often find the names of plants, birds, and animals. If a Russian person chooses foreign name, then, as a rule, he does not delve into its meaning, but makes a choice according to its euphony.

For example, modern Spaniards have beautiful surnames - not uncommon. The top guys are:

• Rodriguez
• Fernandez
• Gonzalez
• Perez
• Martinez
• Sanchez

Russian girls often choose generic names of Spanish origin:

• Alvarez
• Torres
• Romero
• Flores
• Castillo
• Garcia
• Pascual

French surnames

All variants of French surnames are endowed with special beauty and charm. This language is very different from its other European counterparts. If it is always pronounced correctly, then French ones are pronounced differently. For example, the popular Le Pen can sound like “Le Pen”, “Le Pen”, “De Le Pen”. The first French family names were granted to the highest circle of nobility in the 11th century. It was only in the 16th century that a royal decree ordered that every French citizen be given a hereditary nickname.

Since then, French surnames have been included in church registers from generation to generation. The most beautiful family nicknames in France come from proper names, from the occupation of the family, or from the geographical names in which the family was born. Widespread French male family names:

• Robert
• Richard
• Bernard
• Duran
• Lefebvre

Female generic names are not much different from male ones. French history has decreed that no differences or other endings, as in the Russian language, exist between surnames, therefore beautiful generic names for women also bear their own name, for example:

• Leroy
• Bonn
• Francois

German

Generic names in Germany arose in the same way as in other countries: first they were received by the nobility, then by feudal lords and small landowners, and then by the lower strata of the population. The entire process of forming hereditary nicknames took about 8 centuries, and the first surnames appeared based on proper names. Vivid examples are German male generic nicknames:

1. Werner
2. Hermann
3. Jacobi
4. Peters

Beautiful family designations in Germany arose from the names of rivers, mountains and other words related to nature: Bern, Vogelweid. But the most popular generic names come from the occupations of their ancestors. For example, Müller means “miller”, and Schmidt means “blacksmith”. Rare ones sound beautiful: Wagner, Zimmerman. Women in Germany, as a rule, leave their mother's surname, and the most beautiful are considered to be:

1. Lehmann
2. Mayer
3. Peters
4. Fisher
5. Weiss

American

Beautiful American family names compare favorably with other foreign ones - they are very consonant, and the owners wear them with pride. If surnames are not inherited, then any citizen of the United States can change his family name to a more harmonious one. So, the 10 most beautiful names of American men:

1. Robinson
2. Harris
3. Evans
4. Gilmore
5. Florence
6. Stone
7. Lambert
8. Newman

As for American women, as throughout the world, girls take their father’s family name at birth, and their husband’s name upon marriage. Even if a girl wants to leave her family name, then after marriage she will have double surname, for example, Maria Goldman Mrs. Roberts (by her husband). Beautiful generic names for American women:

1. Bellows
2. Houston
3. Taylor
4. Davis
5. Foster

Video: the most common surnames in the world

The most common surnames in the world seem beautiful, because their bearers are popular people, and therefore happy. For example, there are about one hundred million people on the planet who have the generic name Li. In second place in terms of polarity is the surname Wang (about 93 million people). In third place is the family name Garcia, common in South America (about 10 million people).

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