Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Felix the Cat

                    Felixthecat

Is there a story behind your name? I was named after a woman who had a dance exercise show in the 50s. My Mother liked to dance.

French husband has a very typical name from Bretagne. Until recently, in France, first names were by region. Acceptable names of the region were listed at the City Hall. That is why the French have French names, they were controlled. Pierre, Stephan, Jean, Michelle, Francoise, or Nicole…

It is highly unusual to know a French person older than twenty named something like: Cherry, or Paris, or Corey, or Zane…

With our first child, French husband let me pick out the name. Chelsea is a very hard name to say in French, and French husband had to go to the city hall and request permission to name our daughter Chelsea. When I was pregnant with our second child I asked French husband if he had a boy’s name that he liked. He did. He opened his wallet and took out a small piece of paper which had six names written on it.

The French names:

1) Albert, after his great-Grandfather. I balked…and said, "Honey, even though your family’s silver and linens have "A" for Albert on them, I don’t think I could call my baby Albert."

2) Alfred. A poet of something. I cringed.

3) Morgan. I liked that one. But in France it is consider taboo to name a baby with a name that is already in the family. I had a cousin named Morgan. So French husband scratched the name off the list.

4) Quentin. I tried to say it, and instead said a bad bad word. Worse than merde. French husband accused me of saying it badly on purpose. But I couldn’t get it right. "Q" and "U" are hard sounds to say in French. Finally, after a great debate French husband realized that our child would probably grow up with a complex, because his American family would be saying a swear word for his child’s name.

5) Arthur. Which is pronounced like the Star War character, "R2 D2." Honestly, it sounds just like that. R2 D2.

6) The last name on his list was Felix

"Like the cat?" I screamed! French husband said he was certain that nobody thought of a cat when they heard the name Felix, and that I was exaggerating. I exaggerate it is true, but everyone thinks of Felix as a cat.

Chelsea named our son Sacha, and that is another story for another day.

What is the story of your name?

photo: A 1920s music program, "Felix le Chat." The banner reads in French: "l’immense succes Amercain." or "One of America’s Favorite."

Comments

91 responses to “Felix the Cat”

  1. cruststation

    How fascinating that one had to go to the city hall to request permission to name a child? Such an old tradition, somethings a country will hold on to for civic pride. Can’t wait to hear the story of Sacha’s name, thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Britt-Arnhild

    I wrote the story of my name in my blog back in April 9th, the day before my birthday 🙂 (I was supposed to be names Olive)
    Our oldest son is named Torgeir, which is the origin of my husband’s name Terje. Our second son is named Øystein, just because I love that name!
    Our first daughter is Ingrid-Elise, Ingrid after my mother in law, Elise because it is beautiful. Then our second daughter is Marta-Kristin. Marta after my mother, Kristin because it is beautiful and because her godmother’s name (my sister in law) is Kristin.
    I have always been interested in names and their meaning.

    Reply
  3. Katy

    My name, Katy, is a nickname. I was actually named after both my grandmothers and it was fortunate that the names went well together. I am Mary Kate. I’m afraid I never liked being called just Mary,though. It’s not me.

    Reply
  4. cheeky

    This is interesting. I’m looking forward to how it was Chelsea came up with Sacha?
    I think I had an aunt with my name and my mother loved the name. My father’s family is of French descent and my full name, including the middle, is French. Funny thing, my South African husband has a lovely French surname so I am blessed to have a lovely flowing name.
    My husband loves French names so looks like we’ll be sticking to them, but we’ll see?

    Reply
  5. Cre8Tiva

    Rebecca was my grandmother’s name, Elizabeth was my mother’s name…together they make me…Rebecca Elizabeth. My oldest son, named for his father, is called Chip after Walter Cronkite’s son; twins Matthew Casey (Casey is family name and my girl’s name that I gave up on having when twin boys were born) Michael Paul (Paul is my father’s name); finally had the girl Elizabeth (after me & both grandmothers) CASEY (grandmother’s family name)… storied names carry history forward…blessings, rebecca

    Reply
  6. Jeanne

    I find this fascinating……….
    The Name Game…….
    Ooooh La La
    What would they do with me who calls everyone a thousand nick names and lately with my memory
    usually the wrong name.
    Giggles……..
    I love you
    Sing that song to your husband
    the name game
    Shirley Shirley Bo Bonie
    Banana nanny fo fanny
    Shirley
    Forget how it goes but you may remember.
    Love you
    Jeanne

    Reply
  7. Marie-Noëlle

    Was named “Marie-Noëlle” because I was expected to be born on Christmas Day, which is “Noël” in French. Had I been a boy, I would have ben named “Jean-Noël”.
    But one day, my mother had a bad fall in the stairs and I came before the D-Day but was still given the name chosen for me.
    My son’s name is Thibaud (pronounced “tea-bow”).
    The only boy’s name my husband and I loved together.
    It’s a medieval name.
    At the beginning of my pregnancy, we talked about names. My husband would go for hackneyed (?)ones (Names that have kept very popular through generations) such as Nicolas, Julien …
    My answer (as a teacher) was: “Oh no… you call Julien or Nicolas out in the playground and 20 boys turn round…”. When I suggested Thibaud, we got in tune, straight away.
    Our daughter is named Marjolaine. Again, it was THE name we wanted together for a girl. We had made up our minds for our first baby in case it would be a girl.
    I had the memory of a delicious 3 year-old girl who was in my class when I started teaching. Sort of Goldilocks- adorable- very funny- witty for her age- as mischievous as a monkey- always in a good temper (a big smile)- very sociable… and her name was unusual, old-fashioned and very French. When I suggested it to my husband, he adopted it on the spot.
    In the past, when you mentioned “Marjolaine”, people used to think about a famous song from WW2 which is about a “Marjolaine”.
    It was a rare name until a new tv program appeared 2 years ago -RUBBISH- I bet there will be more girls named Marjolaine in the future.
    (Must add that Marjolaine means “marjoram” in English)
    My husband’s name is Jean-Claude. No special story about it. There were many Claude(s) in his family tree … and the tradition was kept on.

    Reply
  8. sheila

    I think names really define who we are, and can affect the way we are treated in school.
    My father wanted to name me Olwyn, after a piece of music that he loved. My mother and his were horrified. I was named by my mother; she once said she had worked for a man, whose daughter used the name for her baby. She had liked it and so used it for me. I have never been fond of it.My dad always called me by a nickname, and my friends called me Gertie..!

    Reply
  9. Marie-Noëlle

    I wanted to add that now rules have changed and that all names are accepted… There was a wave of English/American names some time ago… Now there is a Spanish/South American one (with such names as: Lola, Carla, Mateo, Leo, Ivo, …)

    Reply
  10. pam aries

    My mom said she thought the name Pamela sounded sophisicated. Mwahaaaa! Little did she know! ..I enjoyed your story of naming your children! Wow! I am learning more and more about the French!

    Reply
  11. Chantal

    I would have liked to be called Morganne or Gwenn. My father wanted to name me Pascale (no!) but my mother won that battle and so I was called Chantal, a name I quite like actually. I like the fact that 1) it used to be a last name and therefore isn’t a saint’s name, although Jeanne Françoise de Chantal was later canonized and 2) that it is said to derive from a word that means “pebble” in a dialect from the south of France. I like the idea of my little pebble making a little ripple every now and then. Of course, I spotted that French Husband’s name was from my parts of the world 🙂

    Reply
  12. eb

    I was named Beth after a woman my Dad dated before meeting my Mom (at least thats the family story) but of course Elizabeth Taylor was popular waaay back then so I was named Elizabeth – although my family has always called me Beth – when I went to Ivory Coast Beth in French sounded like bet (bete) – which means beast so I reclaimed Elizabeth which sounds lovely in French… (Aileezabet)and so…
    my son Boone is named after his grandfather James Boone who was one of four brothers all named James… something – although we call him Boone (and always intended to do so) he is Dale Boone to include his other grandfather – who calls him Dale Boone (which means more or less – happy or good valley)
    fun and interesting post!
    xox – eb.

    Reply
  13. Chantal

    Names I love:
    Anaïs (called my cat that way 🙂
    Laurent
    Vincent
    Yvan
    Sarah
    but they HAVE to be pronounced the French way!

    Reply
  14. Shannon

    French Husband may be many good things, but a name picker he is not. What a nerdy list of names, LOL.
    There’s really no story behind my name other than they wanted to name me Jennifer because my last name was Eccles, and there was a song out at the time named Jennifer Eccles and they thought it would be cool.
    But back in the late 60’s to 1971, everyone was naming their daughters Jennifer, so they chose Shannon because my dad’s family backround is Irish and they thought it was a pretty name, plus no one else was named Shannon that they knew of. It was a unique name to them.

    Reply
  15. meredith

    I am named after Tom Brokaw’s wife, Meredith. My dad washed dishes with her in college.

    Reply
  16. rochambeau

    This makes me laugh! Sasha is the perfect name for Sasha! No, he does not look like a Felix or any of the other ‘A’ names. Chelsea just knew he was a Sasha.
    Before I was born the doctors were sure I was a boy, even though there was no way to really tell in those days. My parents believed the doctor and only chose a boys name. I was to be Eric. Then when I was born, and turned out to be a girl my Mom burst into tears she was so happy. My Dad thought they could name me Ericka, my Mom
    thought no way. She named me Constance because she liked the name. My middle name was decided. I was to be named after Dr. Melody, the Dr. who delivered me because I was born on his birthday and my parents liked music. So Constance Melody it is, ( I did turn out to be musical too).

    Reply
  17. marita

    quentin? i can hear you say it, souds like…?? yes i get it 😉
    my name -marita theresa-comes from a combination of the names of an aunt and oncle. plain simple, no fuss. that’s fine with me.

    Reply
  18. Mary

    I think that is so sweet that French Husband had put so much thought into the names – enough to carry around a little list!
    I have a hard time with names. Both of our kids were pretty much named by my husband.
    My maiden name makes me sound very Irish, or like a nun. Mary Elizabeth McB—
    ———————————————-
    Hello Mary
    Yes it was very sweet of French husband to carry that list of names around in his wallet…but that is as far as sweet went …
    Sister Mary Elizabeth 🙂 haha

    Reply
  19. Mary

    I think that is so sweet that French Husband had put so much thought into the names – enough to carry around a little list!
    I have a hard time with names. Both of our kids were pretty much named by my husband.
    My maiden name makes me sound very Irish, or like a nun. Mary Elizabeth McB—
    Sister Mary Elizabeth 🙂 haha

    Reply
  20. shabbyinthecity

    Don’t like my first name…my middle name is Elaine and we would have named a girl Elaina…
    My initials before getting married were: PEE
    It doesn’t get any worse than that!
    Love Chelsea and Sacha…y’all did well!

    Reply
  21. Paris Flirt

    You are a wonder at choosing provocative subjects Corey!
    I was supposed to be named Robert or George…
    Since I came out a girl, I was hastely named after a visiting friend, Carol Louise…
    My Dad never forgave me and dragged me to baseball games and fishing still hoping…
    My Mother insisted I tell people my name was:
    Carol Louise,
    if you please.
    ! ! !
    Adults are IDIOTS
    I would have preferred to be named Claude or Claudia. But now it seems I needed to be born in the Auvergne etc…
    C’est la vie.

    Reply
  22. Beverly

    I would love to hear you pronounce all of these names! I can’t figure out how “Quentin” sounds in France!
    All of my babies are named after family. I’m a little glad today that I don’t live in France (just a little, because it really sounds wonderful), because I LOVED naming my children after grandparents and aunts and uncles.
    ____________________________________
    Hi Beverly,
    I hope to put on sound bites to my blog. Does anyone know how, I’d love to learn.
    Then I could record French expressions and bad words and church bells. In that order too.

    Reply
  23. patpaulk

    Of course I do, but I’ll have to whisper it in your ear…

    Reply
  24. Leau

    I love this! I love knowing the source of people’s identity – given before they even knew who they were to become. I love my name, my father’s name was Lorenzo Leau. Can you tell he was a good Cajun boy named by his grandfather – Napoleon B. Cartier from Louisana? His best friend’s last name was Leau. My parents had pretty much used up all of the family girl names with my 5 older sisters and so I would be named Leau -boy or girl! When it came to middle names, my mother’s maiden name was Andrews and she thought that would make a great middle name, my dad thought it sounded like a law firm so they compromised and settled for Anne. So is that a Southern name or what? Leau Anne! I rarely use the middle name, unless someone knew my dad and then that is how they differentiate. My family had a horrible nickname for me that I won’t even answer to anymore. I have a good name that should be used!

    Reply
  25. Darlene

    My mother has been accused of liking the original “Mickey Mouse” club, because there was a “Darlene” on there. However, my Dad actually named me. He liked that it meant “dearly beloved.”

    Reply
  26. ardi

    I was named Ardith after my Dad’s little sister who died at the age of three of influenza. She was the family darling and beloved by all of her siblings. My Mother thought it was a pretty name. My middle name is after my grandmother who I adored. Evelyn

    Reply
  27. La Vie Arty

    my dad is called michael and his brother john. when my aunt was born my grandfather wanted to call her wendy so they’d be michael, john and wendy like the children in peter pan but my grandmother said no because she’d get teased and called windy wendy?!.. anyway my dad then met my mum jane and so they were michael and jane like the parents in mary poppins. but my mum had actually been christened penelope which she hated – no idea why and it didn’t suit her a bit – no one ever called her penelope once in her life!

    Reply
  28. Trish

    My parents named me Patricia…which is such a stuffy name and soooo not me. In my class at school there were about 5 of us named Patricia..When your name is Patricia everyone wants to call you Patty which I actually dislike even more than Patricia (if that is even possible). When I went to college, my first boyfriend called me Trish…I have had that name now for twenty-five years and no one ever thinks of calling me Patty…Thank God!
    I thought long and hard about names when I had my own children. In my husband’s family, all the boys were named after their father which is a confusing mess when they are all together. I vowed to give my children names that would be more uniquely their own…even if shortened…
    Vincent
    Bree
    Ember
    Marin
    Weston
    They are grown-ups now…and love their names.

    Reply
  29. Elizabeth Meredith

    I was named for three very important women I never met: my grandmother, the Queen of England (where I was born) and St. Elizabeth the mother of John The Baptist. I have been called every variant of the name you can think of and maybe some you cannot! My father-in-law called me Bidebah! People say I have two first names and someone even thought my last name was Elizabeth!! I am often called Meredith!

    Reply
  30. Jeannene

    First, I know my name is “French” Jeannene
    JEANNINE
    Gender: Feminine
    Usage: French, English
    Pronounced: zha-NEEN (French), je-NEEN (English) [key]
    Pet form of JEANNE
    I suppose there are a lot of names out there that are “French, English.”
    Second, My mother, originally was going to name me Melissa, and decided on Jeannene instead because of a lady she worked with that was really sweet and kind, my mother took to her and and thought the name was pretty.
    I also thought of you, when I wrote “my Post” Corey, I really hope you like it…
    Here where I live(in the States)this symbol is very classy and popular right now!!
    LOL
    Jeannene

    Reply
  31. Jeannene

    …”oh, i forgot to tell you your Post is so very educational..so interesting to know.
    I know my sister her name is Michelle that also is one of the names listed you have.
    Can you tell me if “Fredrick” is French? I know somewhere along my blood line I do have “French in me”, also Spanish”. Fredrick, was my Maternal Grandfather and I heard he was French!!
    enough talking..Ha!!
    LOL
    Jeannene

    Reply
  32. susanna

    Oh my lord, you had me laughing out loud AGAIN! Poor French Husband – and he was all prepared. It cracks me up just imagining him accusing you of swearing the name Quentin! Hah! And I can just envision your face with Arthur/R2D2! Hee heeeee! What were YOUR choices and what was French Husband’s responses to them?
    Interesting bit about names being regional and having to be approved by the state. Not too long ago in Quebec, babies who were put up for adoption were given the same last name each month. For example, if a forty children were born in one town in northern Quebec, they would ALL be given the same last name. That is why it is really hard to for adoptees to trace their birthparents.

    Reply
  33. susanna

    Let me rephrase my example…if forty babies were born and put up for adoption in the same month and in the same town in Quebec, they were given the same last name.

    Reply
  34. Julia

    Sacha is a gorgeous, strong yet beautiful name. Boys names are very difficult.
    I love Arthur “Aurtoor”
    I love Albert “Albear”
    Ah! Francais!
    Also, “Anais” is the most beautiful name, as another poster mentioned.
    I love “Yves” for a little boy and also “Piers” which is Old English for Peter (may not work well in French).
    I was named Julia because it reflects my heritage, a name that is both Anglo and Spanish.

    Reply
  35. Sally

    I love this post Corey. I had never heard of needing to get a name approved before, that’s so fascinating. Not only do you entertain and amuse me, delight the senses, soothe the soul, (and vex me with your challenges ARGH!) with your lovely blog, but you inform and educate me.
    All I know about my name is that my parents both agreed on it … and I can remember my mom telling me that there were others that they each liked but the other didn’t. Oh and I remember my mom’s face getting all scrunched up and her telling me that one of my aunties *stole* one of their name choices for their daughter hehe. So by process of elimination (and baby name theft LOL) I became Sally.
    Can’t wait to hear how Chelsea picked Sacha’s name!

    Reply
  36. francoise

    je m’appelle Francoise
    l’histoire de mon nom ?
    ma mère se souvenait d’une grande tante, décédée qui s’appelait Francoise et qu’elle aimait beaucoup quand elle était petite. Alors, en souvenir d’elle, elle m’a donné le même prénom !
    Ce prénom est très connu en Haute-Savoie, région de ma famille ancestrale…

    Reply
  37. Kas

    I was a few days old and still un-named when my mother called home and spoke to my brother and sister about me.
    When Mom asked 5 year old Mark Gregory and 2 1/2 year old Cheryl Lynn what my name should be, they replied in unison, “Kappaleena O’re”.
    To this day Mom says she has no idea where they came up with that name and that hearing her little babies say it made it the most beautiful name in the world to her.
    So while I am officially Kathleen Marie, my family & friends have always called me Kas. To my maternal Grandmother I was, Kappaleena and to my paternal Grandmother I was O’re.
    When I married I felt that everyone had invested so much in my names that I had to keep them all!

    Reply
  38. Liz

    In the Scottish tradition, I was named for my grandmother, first name Elizabeth, but I am Liz, as she was always Elizabeth, and middle name Briggs – her maiden name. As a young child, I hated that my middle name wasn’t Anne, or something like what everyone else had for a middle name. But I love it, have loved it since I was a teenager. The Scottish tradition is that the granddaughters get the grandmothers first names and maiden names as middle names, so the fmaily names are not lost because of marriage. Pretty cool, I think…

    Reply
  39. martina

    Dad was named after a hero in a romance novel his aunt was reading when he was born. Sylvester-he said it reminded everyone of a puddytat. His nickname was Syl. I was named after the grandmothers.

    Reply
  40. JO

    It never occured to my parents that they would have a girl. No thought was given for a name. My parents names are Joe and Dorothy soooo I am Joann Dorothy.

    Reply
  41. rochelle

    that’s interesting I didn’t know that about French names! My name doesn’t have a story so much except that my two sisters have Greek names (we’re not Greek though) and I was given a French name which is presumably from La Rochelle, the city. I figure it means I was predestined for France!
    ___________________________________
    Hi Rochelle
    Hey everyone stay tune to Rochelle’s blog, she is moving to France to be with her Beau!!
    C.

    Reply
  42. Lorene

    Ok first off I would have had the same reactions as you did to the list of names. Sorry but I wouldn’t have picked any of them either! LOL!!
    I found it interesting that people had to pick from a list of names and couldn’t name their child what they wanted. And then you had to go to city hall for Chelsea’s name.
    Now my name. My Mom said that she knew someone who had a daughter and her name was Lorene and she liked it so much that she decided that would be my name. I can’t remember if it was someone here or someone in the Azores. I guess I better find out so I know for sure. LOL!!! Pretty boring story but that is how she came up with it.
    Have a great day. Thanks for sharing this story. Oh and I would love to hear the story about how Chelsea came up with Sacha’s name.

    Reply
  43. Gypsy Purple–Chamara

    I was the eldest grandchild, so you can just imagine….both grandmothers wanted to be named and the tension was strong…so my mother decided…NO FAMILY NAMES….she made one up…Cha (for Chatrina) and mara (for Maria)…and there I was…Chamara….

    Reply
  44. Rue

    Rue was a family name that had always been used as a middle name. So for something different my folks used it as my first. My middle name is Avoye after my mom’s mom. It means princess in Indian. So Rue Avoye could mean street princess. Not so great at 16,but later it caught my husband. haha Mom said that was not what it was suppose to mean. Oh well!

    Reply
  45. Alison Whittington

    No one knows why I’m named Alison — apparently my mother just told everyone that’s what my name was at the hospital. I love my name because it’s common enough no one bats an eye (although they can’t spell it), but rare enough that it’s not run-of-the-mill. We do tend to show up in threes, though. I was always either the only one, or one of three, in my classes. It’s also feminine without being too girly, although I have heard of men named Allison.
    My middle name, Faye, is from a great-aunt, and I love that, too, because it goes with my pointy ears. Clearly, I have fey blood somewhere in the Irish-Scottish-German-Welsh-English-Native-American mix.
    I love these stories of names, and can’t wait to hear how Chelsea picked her brother’s name.

    Reply
  46. Blue

    I am glad you chose Sasha!!
    My name comes from my mother’s childhood friend. It is the English spelling…so hence in North America people sometimes pronounce it with a hard G. Yikes!!

    Reply
  47. Jenny Rebecca

    I was named after a song on a Barbra Streisand album – “Jenny Rebecca”. My husband (before I knew him)sang a choral arrangement of it throughout high school so all his high school friends love that he found his own Jenny Rebecca.
    We are struggling right now with picking out our daughter Parker’s middle name – picked the name Parker because we liked it. We both independently came up with Ann for a middle name so thought we ought to go with that, but it’s got no significance or family legacy attached so we’re going through family names now too…we sure had better hurry and pick one!

    Reply
  48. Alison Whittington

    Oh, yes, and my husband’s name is Alfred. He’s a third. He goes by Al, but I like to say, “Ready, Freddy?” a lot.

    Reply
  49. Lisa Oceandreamer

    This was so interesting to read! I, too, love the names you gave your children and did not care for, sorry French Husband, any of the names on his list.
    My mom heard a big band singer on TV while pregnant with me whose name was Lisa Kirk.(I’ve googled her, she was stunning) She said she knew right then she liked that name AND it was a name no one could shorten.Funny though a couple of my brothers would call me “Lis”(said as lease) and it drover her nuts. My middle name is the same as hers was and was my grandmothers first name..Marie. Back then Lisa wasn’t common but as I got older there were many. NOW people will inevitably ask me (though I am of course older than she) if I was named after Lisa Marie Presley. I used to chuckle but have decided from now on to say “no, she was named after me”. heehee
    My father wanted to call me Gwendolyn – I look nothing like a Gwendolyn so thankfully he didn’t win.
    This has been interesting reading all the various comments here!
    XOXO

    Reply
  50. Betty C.

    Hi Corey — I haven’t stopped by for awhile, but you have written another great post and I love the picture.
    When I got French (dual)nationality, I insisted all the way through the process that I didn’t want to “frenchify” my name, which would have meant changing the z to s in Elizabeth. But when I got my identity card, they had typed it Elisabeth. Many of my official French papers have this spelling error — I wonder if I will have an identity problem come retirement time!

    Reply
  51. Rosemary

    Hi Corey,
    I loved your story as usual.
    I was named after both grandmothers, Rose and Mary.
    Your friend,
    Rosemary

    Reply
  52. ~jolenemarie

    Jolene was a girl my Dad was dating before he met my Mom!
    I think it proves what a cool and understanding person my precious Mom was 🙂 Growing up my name was very rare ….but I see it more now with different spellings. Marie is my Mom’s baby sisters name – and my favorite aunt, so I gave that middle name to my daughter as well.
    Very curious as to how Chelsea came up with Sacha’s name!!

    Reply
  53. Star

    My name came only because my parents liked it.
    I’m glad cooler heads prevailed and you do not have an Albert or Arthur. Sacha seems just right (yay Chelseay!)
    What fun to read the comments on this post to learn how others were named.

    Reply
  54. Genevieve

    Going along with the whole french theme, although I am not french, my parents named me after the patron saint of Paris. My whole name is quite french actually, and I am often asked if I am french, but I am actually Italian!

    Reply
  55. angela marie

    I have to agree.. when I hear the name Felix, I think of the Cat! Always have.. probably always will.
    Now, I asked my mom where did Angela come from.. she said she had always loved it, unknown to her that it was popular in the Hispanic/Spanish culture (which my dads family is). She knew that it was associated with angels and being heavenly messangers.
    Marie was my moms aunts middle name. And there you have it! Angela Marie!
    So many interesting and great stories everyone had! This was wonderful!

    Reply
  56. angela marie

    I can not wait to read how Sacha name came about!
    Next post?!
    😉

    Reply
  57. Miz Booshay

    Felix the cat,
    the wonderful wonderful cat.
    You’ll laugh so hard,
    your sides will ache
    your heart will go pitter-pat,
    watching Felix,
    the wonderful cat. :o)
    I am named Donna after my mother’s friend.
    I am also named Elsie after my grandmother.
    In America, Elise is a famous cow.
    I have always hated it.
    ____________________________________
    Hi Donna,
    Thanks Donna for the words to the song about Felix the cat!
    C.

    Reply
  58. martina

    My great grandfather was thrilled when after he and his wife had five sons, a little girl arrived. He wanted to name her Sunshine because she brightened his life. Unfortunately great grandmother said the 1902 equivalent of no way and the daughter was given a flower name instead.

    Reply
  59. ally bean

    Named for each of my grandmas. Nothing very exotic about it.

    Reply
  60. Sandy

    My parents had planned to name me Pamela but my cousin was born first & that name was taken. I ended up with Sandra Rita & I’m not sure why they picked that first name. I think they just liked it.
    My mother was born into a family of 11 children. All of the children were named after saints. She was named after St. Rita.
    My father was named after his uncle. His uncle was Achille. My dad’s was the the American version of Achilles. He was called Keely(ke-lee) as a child & Al as an adult. I never understood why my Italian/French ancestors picked a Greek name.

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  61. Hasmin

    Corey, yet another great story. Yes, the name Felix does bring to mind “the Cat” or Felix Unger (sp?)of The Odd Couple. Oh my…Quentin in French…no comment. LOL! My name? well, supposedly my Paternal Grandmother named 3 of her grandchildren, I was one of the lucky (?) ones, with floral names. Just by looking at my name, people have the hardest time pronouncing it. Growing up with it was quite difficult too. Since the spelling is different, I would get pronunciations that go from Has-man, Hash-eem, Hash-men,etc. and of course I get the most popular Has-been. Yup, I’m a “has been.” (you should see the Starbucks cups when they write my name on them-quite creative) So, the way to say my name correctly is Has-min, like Jasmin(where my name comes from)or Yasmin. (it’s a wonder people can pronounce those names quite easily and not mine, LOL)

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  62. Jill

    I was named after Jill Kinmont, the Olympic-hopeful skiier from Mammoth Mt in northern California. She took a very bad fall and was paralized. The movie “The Other Side of the Mountain” was about her. My parents were avid skiiers and I think they knew her, so when I came along they gave me that name. I never liked it when I was growing up – I was such a skinny girl and even the letters of my name were skinny! But I do like it now. I feel like a Jill.

    Reply
  63. Molly

    I have a little list of names for my future children… Because this is what girls do months before they get married. 🙂 And I know what it is to try to find a name with meaning–the heritage of the name–Irish or French or literary. My own? I don’t know. It was on a slip of paper, well liked by both parents. I claim I named my sister (whose name is Chelsea), but apparently, at three, I did not. Too bad my parents didn’t just let me believe it.

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  64. Kristy

    My mum liked Kirsty and dad liked the Irish (male) singer Christy Moore.So the I and R were reversed and I got Kristy! People still help me to spell it ‘properly’ and put the I and R back in place.

    Reply
  65. jann

    I was supposed to be a boy~ so, my parents added another “n” to Jan…hence, “Jann” I am Dutch ……need to watch the Dutch! He He!!

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  66. eb

    baby bottles!?! baby bottles!?!
    TICA is an interesting moniker… and a winner…
    To Intuit Creative Aspiration
    xox – eb.

    Reply
  67. Sadie Olive

    My mother named me “Sara” after the Darryl Hall and John Oats song “Sara Smile”. 🙂

    Reply
  68. Kay

    My Mother and Father had agreed on the name Barbara Kay if I turned out to be a girl. My Dad was in the coal mining business, and that was a name of a mines near by the one that he actually owned.
    When I was born, out of the blue, my Father announced that my name would be La Romia Kay! My Mother agreed. To this day, we have no idea where he got that name from. I have never met another person with that name. I just go by Kay, because no one can pronounce it right, and always looks at me weird, as to say “where did that name come from”?
    Has anyone heard of it before?? :o)
    ——————————————————
    Hi La Romia Kay
    Thank you for sharing the story about your name! I think it is beautiful, it sounds like a name of a faraway long ago Princess! I like the blend of the two. La Romia Kay. Wouldn’t it be wonderful of every name had such a classy ring and dream like imagination attach to it.
    Corey

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  69. Robyn

    When I was a tummy baby my parents called me Christopher-Robyn (Chris in case I was a boy and Robyn for a girl). Christopher turned out to be an unbelievably popular name (I once had 3 in my class, not including the 2 Christians). I’m glad I turned out a Robyn 🙂

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  70. AnnieElf

    I renamed myself at 25 years when I got totally sick and tired of being called Lois Lane. Yes, the secret is out. I was named Lois at birth. I dropped it and picked up my middle name which is Ann. I tacked on the “e” and I’ve been happy ever since.

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  71. naturegirl

    Father named me and he died at an early age. Mother did NOT like the name so she renamed me and it was NOT until I was applying for a marriage license and necesary legal paperwork did I find out that my real name was NOT what I was called while growing up!!
    MOther!!!! What have you done!! hugs NG
    P.S. my daughter was a Spring baby so I named her Robin!

    Reply
  72. Franca Bollo

    My parents are cruel people. Apparently, I was late in making my appearance (probably due to a sense of impending doom on my part). Mother was anxious to “deliver” me. My father said “Let’s slap a franco bollo on there and get ‘er done!” Franco Bollo is, of course, Italian for postage stamp. My mother thought that was hilarious and you know what hard laughter will do during hard labor.** Yep, ol’ Franca got postmarked. And then she got spanked.
    (**Actually, I haven’t a clue as to what might happen. I just made it up).
    ___________________________________________
    Hello Dear Cousine!
    My cousin Franca aka CC. Is a graphic art designer in San Francisco.
    http://www.studiosalt.com/html/portfolio.htm
    STUDIO SALT…she is the best.

    Reply
  73. tommiea

    I was named after a CAT! It is an old Disney movie about Thomasina the Cat.

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  74. Barbara

    Barbara is one of those generational names – popular for a brief while. Most of us are in our 60s now. My understanding is that Barbara Stanwick was very popular in the 1940s and her name became popular as a result.

    Reply
  75. pusa

    another interesting story … ireally suggest yu write a book, you’re so damn good!
    yeah, i though of felix the cat as well whenever felix is mentioned
    anyways my parents got my name from the calendar! after a saint, so boring and unimaginative i think!

    Reply
  76. y

    * my mother went to a famous priest to get my name – she paid for it, but my name is a common enough name in my country.
    * my friend was named after his parents’ favorite pizza place!

    Reply
  77. Colette

    Even in France…Felix would remind me of Felix Potin. Sacha is much better!
    I was named after the French writer Colette. Her full name was Gabrielle Sidonie Colette, and mine was Colette Gabriel (my maiden name).
    The story goes that my parents looked through the Larousse to find a name, and when they came across her, they decided to reverse the name. They left out Sidonie though!!!

    Reply
  78. AmandaMay

    My parents took so long in naming me that my grandmother threatened to call me Dolly. They then managed, living in the middle of nowhere with no access to media or the like, to choose THE most popular name for a girl that year – Amanda. I didn’t know too many others while growing up, but now it seems there are Amandas everywhere!

    Reply
  79. ginny

    I was first named for both grandmothers: Virginia Rose. Mom hated the name Virginia because everyone called that grandmother “Virge” so I have always been called Ginny (after a singer of the day Ginny Simms) or GinnyRose or Gingerose. # of my five granddaughters are named either Ginny or Rose after me. Such a wonderful honor.

    Reply
  80. Jenny Fillius

    Like Bruce Willis’ charactor in Pulp Fiction
    says to the taxi driver “It’s American and our names don’t mean….”
    We did name our daughter Montana (mountain in Spanish)because of a woman I knew at the Marin City flea market who was very strong and independent.
    What’s in a name….

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  81. Aina

    Interesting to read about your visitors too! Funny story and truly i can`t remember who i was named after. I should ask my mother 🙂
    I wanted to stop by and thank for your visit and leaving me such a lovely comment! I do noramally write in English, but my last picture and the poem said enough i thought 🙂 You are very welkome back!
    Greetings from a Norwegian girl who lives in The Netherlands, wave 🙂

    Reply
  82. Linda

    I was born in the WWII era and a popular song called “Linda” was out and, instead of Anita Eillen which a mean cousin used before I was born, my mother picked this name.
    My daughter in law has two names. One is what her father calls her and one is what her mother renamed her after a nasty divorce. She legally changed it. In the South there are many unusual names usually with a hyphen, such as Billy-Bob.
    In any case, I feel like a Linda. It fits, somehow.

    Reply
  83. katy

    Originally, my mother had wanted to name me Nancy Ruth – after her own grandmother and a niece, but I don’t think Daddy liked that one. I think I like Mary Kate better. (Strange – I just remembered that.) Daddy thought of naming my brother after the grandfathers, but that would have been “Hollis Hazzard” and Mama wouldn’t have that – so he’s a Jr.
    Katy

    Reply
  84. Di Overton

    My mother went to the cinema to see a film called 7th Heaven when she was carrying me and a song called My Diane was made famous by that film. Hence the name Diane. Not very romantic I know but that’s my story.

    Reply
  85. Heather

    I am not sure how my mother came up with my and my sister’s names. I DO know that she herself was unnamed for two weeks until my grandmother named her Carolyn after a character in a book she was reading. Alas, she has no second name. As for my own kids:
    Hannah – the main character from a television show starring Jamie Lee Curtis, called “Anything But Love”.
    Kestrel – Kes was a character on Star Trek – Voyager and I LOVED that name. I lengthened it to Kestrel (the falcon) so she could have a choice later on.
    Are we noticing a theme yet?
    You will breathe a sigh of relief to know that Hayden was NOT named after Hayden Christianson from Star Wars, but I was truly stumped for boy names while pregnant with him (I thought I’d have another girl and had already chosen “Amelie”). One day I just went to the bookstore and read the names off of the spines until I came across Hayden. I thought Hayden Cohen sounded like an author, so I chose that one!

    Reply
  86. CathyC

    This post is awesome, and I read every one of the comments because I found it so interesting! I was named the old fashioned way–for my grandmother. But I knew a Felix! My mom babysat his baby brother when we were little. His name was DARWIN. Survival of the fittest, I guess.

    Reply
  87. Shelley Noble

    I couldn’t read all the comments here, but did anyone else swoon over Yann keeping a list of names in his wallet?!!!! How adorable is that?!
    Chelsea picked a great name, Sacha. Both beautiful names.
    Have a good day!

    Reply
  88. Genevieve

    My French grandmother named me after St. Genevieve – the Patron Saint of Paris. A typical excercise in writing/religion at Catholic schools is a report on your namesake saint.
    At ten, I remember thinking, “Wow, my namesake was a psychic nun who saved Paris from Attila the Hun – how cool is THAT?”
    I am the 7th girl in our family of 10 and we all have a form of Mary in our names. (My middle name is Marie)
    Even my brother Joe was saddled with the middle name of Marion. (Lotta playground razzing on that one.)
    You see, my mother was an orphan who grew up praying to Mary as a mother figure and our names are in homage to her.
    Thank you for this entry, Corey. I love the little vignettes for each name.
    LOVE Felix le Chat, too. 🙂

    Reply
  89. Bernadette Rose Smith

    I love this. What wonderful stories. And Felix is a great name – for a kitty!
    My name is Bernadette Rose Smith.
    My mother saw the movie “Song of Bernadette” 9 times. (That was 1955 so many of you may not remember.) I used to wish for the name of the leading actress – Jennifer I think. Almost squeaked through with Sarah, my great grandmother’s name, because I was born on her birthday. 100 years to the date. I have a diamond ring that was hers. It was stolen from my parents home, along with numerous other items, and was the only article recovered. Spooky, huh? I love Bernadette now. It was a name I had to grow into.
    As it happens, Rose is my mother-in-law’s maiden name. One that she still goes by as Irene Rose Smith. (No hyphen. She is 94 and you didn’t do that when she got married.) We took our shared name as a good sign.
    Smith. My mother said when I was a little girl I announced – swear I must have been in a trance because don’t remember this – that I was never going to change my name. When my husband proposed after our dating for only a month I had to ask him what his last name was. (Somehow missed that piece if information.) When he said Smith I fell off the couch. Bernadette Rose Smith Smith. Yup. I never changed my name. We took that as another sign. Yesterday was our 32nd anniversary so I guess we were right!
    We have kitty cats (one official house kitty and many unofficial neighborhood kitties). That can present a naming challenge. Smitty is our official kitty. He is 21 years old. He is Smitty because we could not agree on a name. My husband wanted Floyd (really) and I wanted Ragmuffin (he was a stray). We were at an impasse. When I said he was stuck with our last name until we could agree – the nickname Smitty popped up. And he does a fine job of living up to it!
    Great site! This is my first time. I will be back!

    Reply
  90. simple me

    this is a very interesting post. the fact that people were called by regions and that you had to request the city hall for permission for a name.
    the origin of names is such an amazing subject.
    You left me curious about Sacha’s name.

    Reply
  91. Tracy Tuason, 25, Manila Philippines

    My father named me after the “then” famous Wimbledon Tennis Champion, Tracy Austin circa 1982. Glad that he did! i thinks it’s short and simple. No fuss.

    Reply

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