An old not-so-cherished tradition in France was naming children after saints on the Roman Catholic calendar.Calenders were often (and still to this day) printed with a saint for each day of the year. Until 1966, parents could only name their children one of those names. This is why you see so many people in history named Jacques, Jean, Michel, Pierre, Jean-Baptiste, Marie, Jeanne, Marguerite, Françoise and Élisabeth. Of course, parents could get creative and combine names, such as Jean-Paul. In some cases, children could be named after famous historical French men or women.The … [Read more...]

Trying to find the perfect baby name for our little French American girl has been quite a challenge. What is current in one country does not seem to be current in the other.Since she will be growing up in France, we placed a higher priority on giving her a name that will help her fit in here. Luckily, many French baby names are trendy in the USA - just agreeing on one is the problem!French mothers throughout history have had strict requirements for naming their babies. They are still not able to have complete freedom of choosing a baby name in France. In the 18th century, children … [Read more...]