Unusual, charming French has a special charm. French surnames sound unusual, beautiful, and their pronunciation in Russian is often very different from the original. As in many other countries, there are surnames not very harmonious. To understand this, just use the dictionary and find out the translation and meaning.
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Features of the formation of French surnames
The use of surnames by the French nobility began in the eleventh century. Of course, the poor did not think about such things at that time. This continued until King Francis I of France issued a decree in 1539. It stated that all citizens of the country must have a surname. Thus, the exact date of the formation of surnames in France is known, and in 2039 he will turn 500 years old.
Thus, Francis wanted to streamline the registration of marriages, the birth of children, which made it possible to keep a record of the population and facilitated the clerical work in the kingdom. French was fixed in this way as the only state language. Changing the name of the subjects was strictly prohibited.
This continued until Napoleon Bonaparte allowed in some cases to change the name to another. This was not very welcome then, and today is also quite rare. The main argument of the French is that since the ancestors bore this name, and it suited them, then it should not be changed.
Earlier in France, the name of the child passed from the father, if he was unknown, then the name of the woman who gave birth to the baby was given.To date, not much has changed, only the ability to give a double surname, which comes from adding the name of the ancestors of the parents, has been added.
As in many countries, surnames in France were derived:
- names of ancestors were used most often;
- names of professions to which grandparents have devoted themselves;
- less used places of birth and possessions;
- even more rarely, surnames were formed from the characteristics of a person.
The French greet when a foreigner takes the French surname. It is believed that so he becomes almost a Frenchman.
Beautiful surnames for girls and men
The most beautiful French names, without a doubt, are those worn by celebrities who have glorified the country.
Among them are many popular movie actors and other famous personalities:
- Deneuve;
- Aznavour
- Delon;
- Pascal;
- Richard;
- Boulanger
- Gauthier
- Debussy;
- Depardieu;
- Iber;
- Curie
- Legrand;
- Marshall
- Noiret;
- Russo;
- Chatillon.
In French, both girls and men have the same surnames, when changing the gender of the carrier they are no different. Another feature of all the names of this country is that the emphasis is always placed on the last syllable. It is this pronunciation that gives them that particular charm that many people like.
French men's last names were often pronounced with the prefix "de". This spoke of noble origin and belonging to the upper class. Now such a prefix is rarely used. When transferring the name of the daughter to her, it was preserved, and therefore there are female names with such a prefix.
The most common
It is in France that it is difficult to find the most common surnames. They are usually all distributed evenly among the inhabitants of the country. This is not typical for most European countries. In Russia, there are also the most common and less used surnames. And in France, for the most part, only double surnames differ, it is them that can be considered less used.
Among the common ones, you can safely name:
- Bernard
- Dubois;
- Tom
- Fournier
- RU;
- Duran;
- Andre
- Morel;
- Robert
- Paty;
- Martinez;
- Lambert.
Many beautiful names come from tribal, and therefore earlier they belonged to a more wealthy estate.
Unusual and forgotten names can still be found in the cinema, among them such as: Marlo, Bouquet, Phrachon, Binoche, Bardot. Most of the names of the inhabitants of France are short and capacious.
For a foreigner, almost every French surname sounds beautiful and unusual, the language is pleasant for hearing, and in Russia this is connected with the fashion for everything French in a certain period of history.
Rare Double French Surnames
It is double surnames that are considered the most rare, since it became allowed to form them not so long ago. They had not yet managed to gain such popularity among the population and not many generations lived with them to create a certain number of heirs.
The most rare and beautiful French surnames can be called:
- St. Mor;
- Duhamel Dubois;
- Karto Labule;
- Lagrange Chancel;
- Leander Rousseau;
- Roquefort-Guerin;
- Toulouse-Lautrec
- Charles Germain;
- Sherezi-Shiko.
The list, of course, does not end there, there are many other, equally rare, interesting and harmonious surnames that sound beautiful not only for the French, but also in other languages when using transliteration.
When pronouncing a surname in France, it is customary to indicate who it belongs to - a man, woman or girl.
Differences in the prefix:
- mademoiselle - a young girl who was not married;
- madam - a woman with her husband, divorced or widow;
- monsieur - appeal to a man.
This tradition is still preserved, especially during official receptions, meetings. As a rule, this prefix is used instead of titles that were previously familiar to French society.
